The Dawn & The One
by Danigirl32
Summary: AU Liason. Elizabeth Webber is caught between two families in their vie for power. A Shadow Knight has been sent to protect her and in the midst of danger they rely on each other and the attraction between them.
1. Chapter 1

This Liason story is apart of the Halloween Flash-fic challenge over on the Canvas. Each prompt will further the thirteen chapter story to end on Halloween. I haven't written for Liason in a while so this has been a lot of fun for me.

This is a very AU story, which will be very apparent as it continues.

Summary: Elizabeth Webber is being drawn into a world beyond her imaginings. A world where two families vie for power and she is a mere pawn in their deadly game. A Shadow Knight has been sent to protect her and in the midst of danger they can rely only on each other and the feelings growing between them.

Rated: M (language, violence and sexual situations)

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just like writing about them

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HFF07 # 1: When it appears that you have killed the monster, never check to see if it's really dead.

**The Dawn & The One**

Chapter One

The wind whipped violently across her face, tangling her wild chocolate tresses around her face and blurring her vision. Her indigo gaze scanned the dense forest trying to keep up with her swift steps that carried her away from the darkened mansion. Elizabeth tried to ignore the slimy mud that squished through her toes and climbed up her legs like some malevolent vine, focusing more on the road she remembered traveling mere hours ago.

If she could only get there.

Maybe someone...

The lovely bronze strapless evening gown she spent her precious savings on was now in tatters. The full tail clenched in her grip until her nails ripped through the sateen to slice into her palms as to free her legs for their dash of escape from the danger she had been manipulated into. The crimson smears on her pale hands made her stomach clench with nausea just as it had when the sterling silver knife had slid into the neck of the bastard that attacked her. The limo that had ushered her away from her apartment for the private dinner with Nikolas Cassadine remained in the spiraling driveway.

A testament to her foolishness.

When the reclusive but wealthy antiquities collector appeared in the museum that late afternoon two weeks ago, an alarm had sounded in the back of her head. _The Prince_, as he was called in select circles, could make or break a career with a well placed word. To have the darkly handsome man seeking her advice about a piece she had spent most of her life pursuing had seemed a gift from the gods.

The Stave of Nirvana, a staff believed to hold incredible healing powers if wielded by one of pure heart and soul. There were many descriptions of the famed rod, but through careful research and study, she had finally discovered it to be of an unknown metal which was believed when touched by sunlight gleamed in a rainbow of color where the flame shaped tip appeared to release a blue ethereal curative light.

Pride, silenced the insistent warning that there was more to the Cassadine that met the eye. Arrogance and determination allowed the flirtation where she should have been cautious.

And this race for her very existence was the price she would pay.

All she could do was watch in horror as Nikolas had grinned, blood spilling onto the pristine white of his shirt, seeping from his mouth. "Now that's not very nice, Elizabeth," his voice a mocking gurgle even as a shaky hand reached up to snatch the blade free. Then he took a stumbling step in her direction. That was her cue to flee.

She could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage, breath haggard puffs of condensation in the frigid October night air. The storm forecast earlier during the day was now rolling in off the lake, dampening the once thick tumble of curls until they lay cold and limp against her bare shoulders.

_"Why don't you join me at my estate for dinner this evening? We can share information and I can tell you a bit about the expedition I'm funding."_

How easily she had fallen for his charm and her desire for recognition. Actually finding the Stave of Nirvana would prove to everyone who had doubted her that she wasn't wasting her time. Her imposing family of elite doctors and surgeons would finally see she was just as smart, just as talented as they were.

For once, she would be a true Webber and not the lone disappointment.

The dark howl that poured into the chill black silence sent fear, stark and vivid down her spine. Somehow she knew he was their master. Which brought forth the horrific question of just what the hell was Nikolas Cassadine? It howl was joined first by one, then two others. The mournful sounds were followed by the vicious snap of muzzle and growl. The gallop grew closer, more than a match for her slender legs and she knew the desperate attempt to escape was futile.

In mere moments they would be upon her, throwing her to the ground, trampling her frail body as fangs rend the flesh from her bones. She dare not risk a glance over her shoulder to gaze upon the sleek smoke tinted harbingers of her death.

Unfortunately, fate seemed ready to claim it's prize as she felt something clench over the top of her foot, wrenching her ankle painfully in the wrong direction. Before her momentum could be slowed, before her hands raised to brace, there was a strange weightless instant and her body slammed against the muddy ground.

Elizabeth choked in a gasp of air, her mouth filling with the metallic taste of blood. The throb in her tongue proving her teeth had clamped down on the appendage by accident. Before she could shake the dizziness from her head, the monsters that had pursued her from the Cassadine estate surrounded her.

The largest of them was to her left, white spittle dripping into the ground beneath it only to steam and bubble like acid. Grief, raw and primative swelled and crashed upon her as she saw her only hope less than a mere one hundred yards away. She raised slowly, flinching when the beast growled and crept forward a few steps, joined by it's companions.

"Help," she whispered, bereft and desolate, knowing the utter futility of her words but needing the plea anyway. "Please someone help me."

When the beasts stiffened, whining in terror and turning away from her in that brief instance, she wondered if her prayers had been answered.

When moonlight glint off the steel of a pair of nasty looking blades that curved almost intimately along the length of thickly muscled arms, Elizabeth wondered if this dark hooded figure would prove to be much worse.


	2. Chapter 2

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just like writing about them

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HFF07 #2: If I can't see you, you can't see me

**The Dawn & The One**

**Chapter Two**

_Lycanthropes._

He hated them most of all. Humans who had been corrupted with the taint of evil and forever turned into something that was a mixture of wolf and madness. Judging from the blood red crystal in the center of each beasts' forhead, they weren't even given the illusion of freedom.

A small shift balanced his center of gravity from the leap down from the tree tops where he had watched the female try to outrun death. Ironically, she had almost made it. A rarity indeed for a human to escape the clutches of not one but four lycanthropes in the thick of a hunt.

If things had gone differently, he would have intervened sooner. It was afterall his mission to keep Elizabeth Webber safe. It certainly would have been to his benefit if he could have remained in the shadows, if she had succeeded in reaching the road. For he knew the Cassadines would not dare call attention to their agenda and there were many eyes watching.

Luck wasn't on the woman's side however and as he had stepped from the thick branch he had been perched on watching things unfold, he figured luck wasn't on his either.

_"She is to be protected at all costs, Jason. Her life is more important than any other, for she alone will find the Stave. She alone will save Lucky."_

The plea was an echo in his head as he took the steps needed to stand for her. For he was Jason Morgan, Shadow Knight. The weight of Raikiri and Hizeme in his grip was familiar and comforting, as his breath evened, his heart slowed in anticipation of the katas his body would effortlessly perform. Eyes narrowed, watching the first lycanthrope tense on it's hind legs in preparation of a jump as his ears caught the sounds of the other three circling.

The breathless gasps of the woman on the ground were somehow louder than the growls of the beasts he faced. Her scent something erotic and yet familiar, sakura blossoms, teased at his senses. The heat pouring from her skin, seductive, it was all imprinted on his body tugging hungrily in a way that he hadn't been prepared for. An unwilling reminder that even though he had yet to see her face he was completely aware of her.

"Look out!" Her choked warning was seconds after he had already detected the supposed trap.

While his focus was on the largest, a lycanthrope on his left was in the air in a movement so swift it barely registered to the naked eye. His left arm moved, Raikiri crackling with bold white light as his legs shifted into the first movement of a sweeping circle. The sleek blade caught the beast in the gut, black gore coating steel. A wild flicker of lightening sparkled through the darkness, causing the demon's blood to evaporate as it sliced forward.

Before he even finished the movement, another monstrosity was on him. He heard the woman scream in horror as the dead fell to the ground while she scrambled out of it's path. This was all on the edge of his vision because he was completing the second movement, his right arm lunging forward as Hizeme blazed scarlet cleaving the head of the approaching lycanthrope from it's body with a sizzle of flame.

"Run!" He sent the growled demand over his shoulder, his next steps already on the two remaining demons. She need only get to the road, except she seemed pinned to the spot where she kneeled several feet away. "Damn it," he pivoted on his heel, keeping the largest in his sights as he lowered a hand to the grown for balance.

A booted foot swept forward, clipping a lycanthrope, it flipped nimbly through the air, landing a few feet away and already preparing for it's next attack. Before he could swing a blade in for the kill, both beasts halted. He watched large ears flicker toward some unheard sound then both turned and fled in the direction from which they came.

The Cassadines.

The snarl on his face couldn't convey the depths of his hatred for that clan and all of the death and destruction they had caused. If it were up to him, he would have sent a team in to slaughter the entire family unfortunately his hands were tied by the bonds of his word. They would live for a while longer, until they overstepped the boundaries of the peace treaty completely.

When that day arrived, he would gladly send all of them to depths of Hell where they belonged.

After one final glance into the darkness, Jason turned to his charge and the unwelcome surge of desire only infuriated him more. Creamy ivory skin glowed ethereal, unreal beneath the moonlight. A glimpse of the heavy silken mass of hair wet and clinging to his skin reminded him of the rain currently pouring down upon them.

"We need to move, now, before they have a chance to regroup." He told her carefully, aware of the shock that had to be settling in. They didn't have time for him to coddle her. He preferred to fight his battles on his terms and sticking this close to Cassadine territory wasn't a way to win.

As his hand reached for her, she seemed to snap out of the fog and jerked away in obvious panic. "I'm not going to hurt you, Elizabeth," he said in a low composed voice, "But we need to move. My bike is just up the road."

"My ankle," she managed in a voice low and dusky that sent another shiver of hunger through his veins. "I think I twisted my ankle."

He stored his blades in the sheathes crossed against his back, moving forward so that he could check on the injury which was probably the reason why she had fallen. Squatting down, he touched a leather clad hand to the slender appendage noting the purple bruising begining to taint the pale but filthy skin. "Troublesome," he murmured. "I'm going to have to carry you. I need you to slip your arms around my neck."

Delicate hands slid up the heavy leather of his vest, giving him a glimspe of the streaks of blood that still clung to her skin. They closed determinedly around his neck as he hefted her carefully into his arms. As she tucked her head into the shelter of his shoulder, he was touched once again with the alluring feminine scent of sakura blossoms. She said nothing as he started toward his bike.

Nothing except a quiet, "Thank you."

And with that gentle grace, he knew he would die to protect Elizabeth Webber. The last White Mage.

Raikiri --lightening blade  
Hizeme--attacking with fire


	3. Chapter 3

Rated M

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just like writing about them

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**HFF07 # 3: A pumpkin and a princess**

**The Dawn and The One**

**Chapter Three**

Fairy tales were something she had believed in as a child. The beautiful heroine who longed for the handsome prince to ride in on his white horse and rescue her from the malvelolent witch. After a fight of epic proportions and the ultimate triumph of good over evil, they would ride into the sunset to live happily ever after.

That was a nice dream for an eight year old.

When confronted with the reality of something that smelled like something out of a mental patients imaginings, well it was enough to drive the sanest woman to seek professional help. She was seriously considering it. The night had started with her dressing in her beautiful gown for dinner with her very own Prince, if not in actuality at least in reputation. Somewhere along the line she had drifted into a nightmare.

The Prince was either a homicidal maniac or a monster, and she couldn't tell if there was a difference between the two. She had been recused, alright but by a dark stranger who had killed the two demons chasing her, barely said more than seven sentences to her before sweeping her up into his very powerful embrace and carrying her off to his motorcycle.

Now that black and sliver gleam of steel and machine was not turning back into a pumpkin at midnight and judging from the throbbing agony in her ankle, she wasn't donning glass slippers anytime soon.

She should be afraid. She was off with a man who clearly had no qualms about throwing off killer intent that would frighten small children and animals. Not to mention she had barely seen his face. The moonlight coupled with the dark hood over his head had reduced his visage to planes and angles and a sense of urgency twisting in her stomach that could only spell trouble.

"Where are we?"

They were the only words she'd dared after her hesitant thank you for saving her life. He had placed her on the motorcycle and climbed on behind her enveloping her in his masuline scent of rain, leather and sandalwood. She had ridden in silence, resisting the urge to glance back over her shoulder to see his face. That need had warred with an intimacy his nearness had inspired leaving her confused and vulnerable.

Her rescuer had driven away from the Cassadine Estate back into the city with the wind in their faces and the rain soaking through to their skin. She didn't need him to give voice to the threat of Nikolas and those beasts following but she hadn't expected to be taken across town into the seedier section of the city.

They turned onto one way street, driving until the end of the block and arrived at a lone dilapidated brownstone that looked more suited for demolition than occupancy. A garage door lifted and he drove inside parking the bike beside a black muscle car that looked like it ran on testosterone instead of gas. After cutting the motor she found the courage to ask the question again.

"Where are we?"

"My place," he answered, dropping the kickstand to brace the machine before snagging the keys and pocketing them. "We should get inside, we can't stay here for long."

In all the time they'd been together, she hadn't taken the opportunity to actually look at him but now that he was insisting she go inside his house the magnitude of her circumstances finally hit her.

This man was huge, not just in height though he had to be drifting over six feet, but in stature he was more than enough to intimidate the hell out of her. Clad in all black, she watched in silent awe as he slipped easily off the bike with a feral grace to extend a hand to her in assistance.

Her gaze roved boldly over his masculine frame, from the heavy boots to the wet black pants that emphasized the force of his thighs and the slimness of his hips. The black leather vest did nothing to hide the muscles rippling through his chest and shoulders, and the black leather arm bracers he wore along with the gloves only added a hint of danger to his aura. Beneath the vest was a sleeveless black hoodie that still conceal his face and on his back were those deadly blades that she spent most of the ride thinking about.

"No," but unfortunately the word didn't carry any of the determination she had intended. "I'm not going anywhere else with you until I get some answers."

Nothing in his stance revealed anything but somehow she just knew that he was irritated with her defiance. "Elizabeth, I've already told you I wouldn't hurt you. I would think you would trust that, since I've saved your life once tonight already."

"And that's another thing," she frowned, "I know I've never met you before, so how do you know my name? Who are you? What the hell do you want with me!"

"Calm down," he held up both hands in entreaty.

"Don't you tell me to calm down! I killed a man tonight. Or at least I should have killed a man tonight. I always figured when you shove a knife into someone's neck they would probably die. Not pull it out and laugh at you." Her wide eyes flicked around the dim garage in growing panic as the events began to unfold in her mind.

"Then I was chased through the woods by some," she paused, expressive hands clenching in front of her face, "_Things_, that were probably going to kill me. And eat me," she muttered as an after thought, rolling her eyes.

"I didn't need to think about that. And then you come along with the blades of fury, sweep me up into your arms and we race off on your bike. I think I have a right to not calm down. _I don't want to calm down. I want to know what the hell is going on!"_

Cool leather clamped over her arms halting her rising hysteria, giving a slight jerk, forcing her to look up and into the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. Eyes that were a startling Celtic blue, as blue as a warm summer sky that seemed as if they could see straight to her very soul. In that instant of silence something vaguely sensuous passed between them. It wasn't expected and was probably the worst thing that could happen but there it was.

"Who are you?" she whispered, her heart fluttering under the intensity of his gaze.

"My name is Jason."

"Jason," she echoed, as the very air thickened around them.

"Yes," he murmured, and she could feel his thumbs slowly caress her skin, probably meant to soothe but was sending dizzy currents of awareness through her blood. "Jason Morgan. I was sent to protect you."

"From who? I'm nobody. What do I need protection from? Who would want to hurt me?"

The same eyes that had been so very warm and tender, darkened dangerously and she knew with complete certainty that he believed everything he was telling her to be true. "The Cassadines."

"You're here to protect me from Nikolas Cassadine?"

"Not just the prince, but the whole damned clan. They're dangerous, as you witnessed tonight."

"But why would they want to kill me?"

Whatever intensity that had overcome him in those moments, drifted away as fatigue seemed to engulf him. How could she be so stupid? Of course he was tired, not only had he killed those things tonight, but he carried her a good half mile and drove them both back into the city. He must be exhausted.

"I will try to explain everything to you Elizabeth. I know it's asking you a lot to trust me after everything you've been through tonight. I'm a stranger, I'm heavily armed and you would be right to want answers before going anywhere with me."

"I trust you," she said softly, eyes narrowing as she realized the words were true. When Nikolas had come to her, all kinds of warning bells had sounded in her head. It was her fault that she had pushed them aside in her desperation to prove something to her family. With this man, every instinct she had was murmuring the same thing.

Safe.

Warmth.

"For now," she hedged, "I know you won't hurt me, you had plenty of time to do that. Or you could have simply left me for those things back there."

"Lycanthropes," he interrupted.

"Lycanthropes?" She blinked in confusion as the familiar word rang through her head until finally it's meaning hit her. _"Werewolves? _Are you trying to tell me that Nikolas Cassadine is a _Werewolf_?_"_

"If only it were that simple," his face became almost somber. "The Cassadines are something much worse. If you'll come inside, I'll try to explain things. Who I am, who sent me and why the Cassadines are after you."

"I'll come. On one condition." He nodded his agreement, and she took the opportunity that had been given to her and did the one thing her fingers had itched to do all along. When she lifted her hands, his flinch was barely perceptable and she would have missed it if she hadn't been staring at him so intently. As she slid the damp woolen material away, she couldn't control the gasp at what greeted her eyes.

"You're beautiful."


	4. Chapter 4

Hey all. Here is my next part. I ran a bit over on the time but I couldn't stop in the middle of the thought, so I can be forgiven five minutes right? Well here it is, hope you like.

Rated: M  
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just like writing about them

HFF07 #4: _**"You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everybody dances with the Grim Reaper."**_ Robert Alton Harris 

**The Dawn & The One**

**Chapter Four**

_"Jason, you know I hate taking you away from your duties, but this particular instance is important. I'm sure my husband won't mind." _

_His life was given in service of the clan who had adopted him, so he wasn't supposed to mind this meeting. They had taken him in, given him purpose, sent him to learn to fight and made him everything he was. However he was certain the Lady had more in mind than the simple tea she tried to foist upon him given the gleam in her eyes._

_When he met Laura more than twenty years ago she had been impressive sight. A definite beauty, with long flowing blonde hair and kind blue eyes many had remarked were similar to his own. Others had muttered in vindictive voices this sentimentality was the reason he carried such favor with their Lord. _

_As a boy, he thought her to be grace and gentleness personified. She comforted him when he was bullied by the other children for being an orphan. She was the one who taught him to read and write then enrolled him in school. She had more than once taken him into the kitchen of their estate to sneak him a snack of milk and cookies to share what activities had occupied his day. It became a routine. And he had come to think upon her as the mother he could not remember having._

_Until he learned she was merely grooming him. There was nothing more disheartening to an eighteen year old young man than to learn his love and loyalty weren't returned. For he was a mere pawn to protect her 'true' son._

_"I know your Liege has entrusted you with the duty of protecting the White Mage. It has been many, many years since a Webber has graced our people with their presence. We have learned a great many things about the young Elizabeth over the years and believe that she will perhaps be the strongest since the very first. After all it is she who shall find the Stave."_

_He knew a response wasn't required, he had after all endured many of these such meetings since his rise through the Imperial Guard. The Lady would eventually speak of what she wanted from him. So he merely nodded in acknowledgement of her words and waited to see what she wished of him. _

_"When she awakens Lucky and heals him of that terrible curse Helena placed upon him, it is my hope that the two will see something in each other."_

_He couldn't help the brow that quirked in curiousity. It was well known through their people that Emily Bowen Quartermaine was all but betrothed to Lucky. Helena had placed the curse upon Lucky because it was rumored that Nikolas wanted Emily as well and needed Lucky dead before the marriage could take place. Yet the plan had backfired in the Cassadines faces. The young Emily was even more determined to wed Lucky and remained a constant at his bedside.It was a good match, beneficial to both clans. However it seemed the Lady had other plans for her eldest son. _

_"It would be a veritable coup, wouldn't it Jason? The last White Mage weds the heir of the Spencer clan. Think of the children of that union, Jason. They would be strong enough to destroy the Cassadines once and for all."_

"I can't believe this place looks so nice on the inside." The soft voice brought Jason from the lingering thoughts that had his stomach swimming with such turmoil. Though Elizabeth had insisted she could walk, he had known she would never make it up the stairs on that ankle. The words were more for her benefit than his, to prove to herself that she wasn't as helpless as she might have been feeling.

He could certainly understand that need to fool herself. From the moment she had pushed his hood away, he had been struggling with that same helplessness and losing.

Closing the door behind him, he tried to see things from her perspective. He was well aware of how the building looked on the outside, his purpose in the city was not to draw attention to his presence. No one would think to look for the Captain of the Spencer Imperial Guard in a run down dump.

That didn't mean he would live in one. A few days were all that was required to refurbish the inner rooms to liveable conditions and the sophisticated guards he set were more than enough to keep the average thief or miscreant out.

The living room wasn't much as far as he was concerned. Hard wood floors buffed to a high gloss, a comfortable black leather sectional sat before a fireplace that he rarely used and that was pretty much it. He had no need for artifice, for this wasn't his home, merely a temporary place he would rest and eat.

"How long have you lived here?"

"Six months," he knew she would continue with the questions if he didn't answer. She managed to pepper him with all kinds during the short trip from the garage to inside the building. Most of them were nonsense but he answered them anyway because she seemed to need the sounds of their voices. In the short amount of time he had spent in her presence, he had learned that Elizabeth Webber tended to run off at the mouth when she was nervous. The quaint oddity was quite opposite from the composed academic she presented to the rest of the world.

"What brought you to Denver?"

"You." But she already knew that, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise.

"So I guess that means you've been watching me all of that time?"

"Yes. I know you live in a small colonial styled house near the park where you go for a run each morning before leaving for work at the museum. You enjoy playing with the dogs there, as well as the children. You've been an assistant curator at the mueseum for almost four years while you attend the University for your Doctorate. Mondays you visit with your family each evening for dinner. Wednesdays you go to a bar named McGuyvers with four other women for drinks after work. There are the occasional dates on Friday-"

"I get it, I get it," she interrupted with a pout that should have looked childish but merely drew his gaze to her lush lower lip to cause him to wonder if it was as soft as it appeared to be. To wonder how she would taste. And his mind should never stray to those thoughts. Ever.

"You were watching and found out I'm boring, which only proves my point. There isn't anything I've ever done that would inspire a maniac family to want to kill me."

"They don't want to kill you." 'They want something from you,' he finished mentally, 'We all seem to want something from you Elizabeth. Myself included.'

"Could have fooled me with the snarling beasts back there," she rolled her eyes and adjusted in his arms, reminding him that he was still carrying her. What made him pause was the fact that neither of them had commented on that fact. Both of them were much too comfortable and that needed to change.

"We're both wet," he changed the subject, "I dont' think I have anything that would fit you but you're welcome to a bath and whatever clothes I have. You can't stay in that gown all night."

"I would prefer a shower, so that I could wash some of this dirt out of my hair."

"If you think you can stand, it's up to you. I have something I can put on your ankle afterwards that will help with the pain and swelling. Then I'll wrap it up for you." He headed upstairs and down the hall to the bathroom he had redone, ignoring another gasp of surprise when she saw the room for the first time.

"You have a thing for stark and sleek, don't you?" Gleaming white tile, gold faucets and handles in the shower with it's smoked glass door, gold on the sink and on the huge claw foot tub made up for the lack of embelishments in the room. Rather than respond he set her down on the toilet and turned to the cabinet removing fluffy white towels for her to use.

"There is soap and shampoo in the shower. It's probably not what you'd be used to but it will get you clean. I'll bring you some things that might fit so you can look through them."

When he turned to leave, she grabbed his hand and the same spark of heat he'd felt when she touched his face stoked the steadily growing fire that smoldered just beneath his skin. She simply had to stop touching him or he would do something that they both would regret.

And would probably get him killed.

"I don't know if I've said this already," her gaze itself was as soft as a caress, and her words were a lure to his barren soul. "I just want to thank you again. You saved me tonight, from what I don't really know but you did. You brought me back here to protect me, you're taking care of me." She stopped as if knowing she was about to ramble on again. "Just thank you Jason."

"You don't have to thank me, I was merely doing my job." And he left her with those cold words, hoping it would place the distance between them he so desperately needed.

_**XXXXooXXXX **_

Elizabeth didn't know if he intended those words to hurt as much as they did, but the wound had been struck and ached more than she thought anyone had the power to hurt her anymore. She was used to the harsh words and the icy glances of her family. She had grown to expect them even if they still hurt after twenty five years of being on the receiving end of their disdain.

With Jason, she had thought maybe there was some kind of connection between them. Yet with those simple words, devoid of any emotion what so ever, he had shown her that the feelings that deepened and intensified with each moment they spent together were onesided.

"Nothing you aren't used to," to told her reflection in the mirror over the sink. "Get over it, Lizzie. Get dressed go downstairs and get some answers and stop making cow eyes at the man. No matter how gorgeous he is," she closed her eyes and released a deep breath.

When she had finally seen his face, nothing could have prepared her for the sensations as her entire being, heart, body, mind and soul, was aroused. Not mere desire. Something like that she could have pushed aside, ignorned for the mere physical reaction that it was.

No, this was stronger and much more threatening. It was like a voice had whispered in her head, _"Finally, there you are." _And in that one instance, she knew she had seen the answering light in those heart breaking eyes of his.

"But he has to play Mr. I'm Not Affected By You," she tugged the comb through her hair she found while rumaging through his cabinets. After braiding the wet tresses into a single plait, she gave her image in the mirror one last glance then stuck her tongue out playfully. She was probably supposed to feel guilty about looking through his things but after opening the door she had been assulted with the need to know something about him. Anything. "Well I can do that too. And I'm probably better at it considering I've been practicing all my life."

Jason must have returned while she was in the shower, placing a pile of clothes on the toilet for her to look through. Given the mere breath of the man, she knew none of the pants would fit, so she skipped over the jogging pants going straight for the long sleeved tunic. She tried to picture Jason in the v-necked navy cotton and realized that she didn't want her imaginings to drift that far.

All of her underwear was wet, so she had bundled it up with the dress intending it for the garbage. Unfortunately that left her with nothing to wear beneath the top. "It's not like he's looking at you anyway, Lizzie. You're just his job. You could probably parade downstairs buck naked and he would just ask if you were cold."

Annoyed she slipped the tunic over her head with a huff. As predicted it was too large for her slender frame, the vee just shy of indecent as it revealed more cleavage than she ever displayed. The tail of the shirt reached just above her knees except it had two slits on the side that traveled the length of thigh up to her hips. She had to roll the sleeves up and over all she felt like a child playing dress up in her parents clothes.

Did the man really have to be that muscular? Even the thick black socks she slipped on bunched down like leg warmers.

"Elizabeth, are you okay in there?"

Her eyes flicked up to the door, knowing he was back to carry her downstairs so they could finally have their talk. Well there was no time like the present. "Yes, I'm fine, you can come in now."

The door slowly opened, as if he expected her to be behind it or something. Then he was there for her visual pleasure dressed in a tunic exactly like hers except in black and black loose fitting pants. They did nothing to disguise the strength and power of his body. His hair was still damp brushed away from his face to emphasize the stark beauty that had mesmerized her before.

Their eyes locked, both breathing just a bit faster, a bit more aware and she had to resist the urge to smirk.

Job her ass.


	5. Chapter 5

Here I go again. It's really hard to stop at the hour mark...

Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just like writing about them

HFF07 # 5: _**"When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before."**_ Mae West 

**The Dawn & The One**

**Chapter Five**

"What do you know about your family, Elizabeth?"

They were back downstairs in his livingroom, where he had lay her on the sofa and then joined her pulling her injured ankle into his lap. On the small oak table across from them was Jason Morgan's version of a first aid kit. Instead of the many bottles and tubes of medications she would normally see on pharmacy shelves, there were short clear jars filled with multicolored goo and liquids that she hoped he knew the names and purpose. The only thing that looked familiar were the different sized rolls of ace bandages.

She took a moment to consider his question, instead of saying the first thing that came to her mind. Jason wouldn't have asked about her family if it wasn't relevant to everything that had happened tonight. So, what exactly did she know about her family?

Her mother died during childbirth which was rare given the state of medical advancement but evidently she had a terminal case of placenta abruptia and after the ceasearan section had bled out on the operating table. Not even her genius father, Jeff Webber, would have been able to save her.

Elizabeth figured this was one of the reasons that her father was so cold and indifferent toward her. From everything her older brother Stephen and sister Sarah had told her, their parents had adored each other. Before she was born the Webber family had been a joyful loving household. All that changed with her mother's death. Her father remarried when she was seven, a fellow doctor named Anne, but the family was never quite the same. Or so her siblings said.

The Webbers were always in the medical profession. Great doctors and nurses who took their vocation to heart, so it was another disappointment when Elizabeth the _'changeling_' of the family was determined to pursue a career in archeology.

Nothing in those facts could possibly be connected to the insanity of tonight. "I'm thinking you know more than I do."

Jason carefully pulled the black sock from her foot, cradling her ankle so that he could view it from all sides. Large hands were light against her skin, hands capable of death and of great tenderness, and she was captivated by the duality. The frown of concentration on his face made her smile. He took things so seriously, and she didn't need to know him for years to know this. It showed in every aspect of his being, especially when it concerned her.

She might not be a doctor but she had seen enough sprained ankles to know this one was bad but luckily not broken. Some ice, elevation and rest and in a few days she would be on her feet again without any problems.

Lifting his head, his countenance was immobile but even that practiced stillness couldn't conceal the heat that smoldered in his eyes. "I know a great deal about the Webber clan, everyone of our world does."

"Our world." She countered, yet unable to tear her gaze away. "You say that as if you're from another planet or something."

"Our world exists in the shadows of the world normal humans live. It isn't often they collide, for we are careful to conceal our existence from you mortals who would fear what you don't understand."

"Given the werewolves that were chasing me, I think we have every right to be afraid. We would be stupid not to be."

"Hn." And he turned toward his supplies, occasionally lifting a jar then resettling it before he finally came to the one he was looking for. It was a pale blue gel that seemed innocent enough. Then the words _our world_ flashed in her head and she tensed.

"What is that?"

"Relax," a corner of his mouth lifted in the first sign of humor she'd witnessed in him. "It's only a remaedie, it helps speed the healing of bruised or torn muscles. It was brewed by an alchemist so it isn't as potent as it would be if a healer had created it but it should work well enough so that you're able to walk in a few hours."

"Hun? An Alchemist?"

At her confusion, this time his mouth twitched with amusement. It lightened his face making her want to trace a finger along the line of his sensuous mouth. Somehow he just seemed like a man who needed to be touched, who had lived his life without the affection so many took for granted. She wondered if she saw this in him because she recognized it in herself.

"A crash course in the Otherworld, I believe is required. The myths, stories and outright lies you've probably heard or read about all have basis our reality. Werewolves, vampires, ghosts and goblins. Sirens, Beserkers, Theives and Beast Maesters, all the legends come truth."

"You lost me after Sirens." Her frown quickly turned into a gasp as he began rubbing the gel gently into her skin. It was warm, quickly heating under the ministrations of his fingers. "That tingles. And it's getting hot."

"Means it's working," he gave her another one of those intense glances that made her heart stammer. "I couldn't tell you the ingredients, those Quartermaines are extremely tight lipped about their creations but given the smell, I'd say there is Phoenix blood in it so that's probably the source of the heat."

"So what are Cassadines?"

"Daemons."

"As in," she paused, her mind already staggering under his first words and trying to wrap around the belief that things like Werewolves and vampires were real but now he was expecting her to believe, "Demons?"

"Yes. Pure evil and not to be underestimated or taken lightly. They have the will to command all the Dark and will do so if it gains them power or whatever their greedy little black hearts want."

"But there can't be-"

"Is it so difficult to believe evil exists? You've seen good. You mortals believe in higher powers. You must realize their must be balance in the universe. For good, there is evil. Dark to Light. Yin to Yang."

A chill ran down her spine as she remembered the sound of Nikolas' voice as he had mocked her. The way he had pulled the knife from his throat and their fight which had caused her to defend herself. The instincts that had warned her away from him at their first meeting had been screaming for her to find any way to escape. The nausea that slapped at her when she stabbed him was nothing compared to that desperation.

"Granted, there are only two pure blood Cassadines left. Nikolas, the heir and Helena, his grandmother. My Lord destroyed the two brothers, Stefan and Stavros. Helena in a bid for power slew her mate Meethos, for his affair with a human and so she could gain control of the clan. The rest are mere Breeds."

"I don't understand," and the panic that was building was even greater than what she felt back with Nikolas. "Why do they want me? I've never done anything to them!"

"Why did Nikolas come to see you Elizabeth?" He took one of the ace bandages and quickly wrapped her ankle, then moved so that he could elevate it on a large pillow. She watched him walk to the window and glance and couldn't help the jerk of fear. What could be outside? Had Nikolas and those things found her?

"The Stave," she answered finally, knowing that no matter what came Jason would protect her. "The Stave of Nirvana." And then she frowned, "It's real."

"As real as I am."

"You know," she looked down at her white clenched fingers, drawing in a deep breath so that she could concentrate. "I don't know if I ever truly believed it was real. I mean, I've buried myself in research and journals trying to find any sign of it. Any mention of it. I have files and files of evidence, even if it was a single phrase, back at my house. My collegues think I'm obsessed. My family is alternately ashamed and embarrased for me to think I may ruin a career they already think less of over my search."

She hadn't realized the tears had been building until one spilled over onto her cheek. "Even with all of that, I don't think I really believed it was real until just now."

Jason crossed the room and kneeled down in front of her, taking her hands into his own. "It's real. And it's yours. It always has been."

"Mine?"

"I don't know what happened to make the Webbers turn from Otherworld but your family has always been the most powerful White Mages of the kind. The most powerful and respected Healers ever known in our world. And you Elizabeth are the last."

"That makes no sense," she boggled at the mere idea, "I'm not a doctor. That sounds like my sister Sarah, now she would be this White Mage you're talking about."

"It doesn't work like that," he smiled sympathetically. "All of the Webbers have the ability to heal. I'm guessing the talent has been diluted as each Webber married a normal human but the need to heal has remained. Yet with all hereditary bloodlines, there comes a child who will be born with the purest of the gifts. The most powerful, and that child is you."

"I've never even wanted to be a doctor. The sight of blood makes me sick to the stomach."

"This isn't about being a doctor or a nurse in this world. You don't study to be a White Mage, you are born one."

"That's just ridiculous," she snatched her hands free, turning away from his knowing gaze. It was ridiculous and impossible and he was just wrong! "I would know if I was this great healer you're talking about. I've never- I can't- I would just know!"

"What about the Stave, Elizabeth?"

"What about it?" Her eyes widened as she tried to shrug off what he was implying. "I wanted to find it so I could impress my family. So I wouldn't feel like an outcast with the people who were supposed to care about me."

She wanted to find it so that for just one moment her father would look at her with love and pride.

"The Stave of Nirvana would never have caught your attention, become your obession, if it weren't yours, Elizabeth. It belongs the White Mage who was born to wield it and it's been lost for centuries. It hasn't been seen since the first who sealed it away for her heir. The Stave is known to Otherworld, but not to normal humans. There are some humans who are touched by Otherworld but they never would have found it. This is why Nikolas was after you, because _you_ found it."

_**XXXXooXXXX**_

Jason left her with those words. It was a lot of information to process and given everything he had gleamed from the words about her own family, the distrust and disbelief were going to be harder to let go of than he realized. Elizabeth believed he was telling the truth, when confronted with reality only fools and the insane are capable of denial and Elizabeth Webber was neither. Acceptance was a different step all together.

But he knew she would. Besides being so beautiful she made him ache, she was intelligent. Strong. Courageous. And those qualities he'd uncovered after mere hours in her presence. Imagine the layers he would discover after days of knowing her. Months.

A lifetime.

No, he reminded himself for probably the hundreth time. Elizabeth Webber was not meant for him no matter how much she made his blood heat, or his heart quicken. The last White Mage would have a power and postion in Otherworld that was far beyond the reach of the Captain of the Imperial Guard. Even if he was commad of the legions of Warriors of the most powerful clan in Otherworld. The heir of the Spencers, _Lucky_, would be a far better mate for her as Laura had predicted.

When he returned, he found her with the same disoriented expression which inspired a swell of sympathy. He couldn't imagine how she was feeling right now. Confronted by nightmares, drawn into a life she couldn't understand, and learning that her entire life was to be torn apart all for a people she had no reason to feel anything for.

But he would protect her, no matter her choice in the matter, even if he had to stay with her all his days and never return home. That was his vow and for a man who came from nothing to build a life many would envy and all respected, his word meant everything.

"How are you feeling," he handed her the mug he carried from the kitchen and waited. There was still so much to tell her and they had very little time.

"As well as can be expected, I guess," she sniffed the contents and her eyes met his, misty and wistful, as a smile curved her full lips. "You made me hot chocolate? How did you know?"

"Every morning you go to the small cafe about a block away from the museum where you order a blueberry muffin and an extra large hot chocolate to go."

The faint light that twinkled in the depths of her eyes inspired a sudden surge of anger. Not with her but the situation, the discovery of the White Mage should not be shrouded in power plays. She should consider this knowledge a gift and not the reason why someone wanted to hurt her.

"Which brings me to my first question." She blew gently over the liquid before taking a small warming sip, both hand curved over the mug as if trying to draw it's heat into herself. "Why were you sent to protect me? It didn't take me long to figure out the Cassadines want the Stave of Nirvana and the last White Mage to just disappear forever. So who do you work for and what do they want from me?"

"The Spencers, enemies of the Cassadines," he answered truthfully, their would be no lies between them. "I am a Shadow Knight, and Captain of the Spencer Imperial Guard."

"So the enemy of my enemy should be my friend?"

"We are not your enemy, nor do we have any designs to hurt you." He hated to disillusion the joyful light in her eyes but the truth needed to be told. "However, my Lord never would have begun his search for a White Mage had his son not been cursed by Helena."

"What happened?"

"For many years, the Spencers and the Cassadines have been at war with each other. Daemon against Warrior with both sides bearing many casualites. Luke, our Lord, destroyed both of Helena's sons, Stefan and Stavros. Stavros wanted Luke's wife, Laura, and conspired to murder Luke and steal her away. Both brothers were killed in the battle to return our Lady home."

"So this Helena has it in for Luke," she reasoned correctly.

"Yes, she swore vengence on the entire Spencer clan. Barbara, Luke's sister and a great Warrior was slain in a trap, along with her son Lucas and husband Anthony as they traveled to visting friends. Her daughter, Caroline and husband Michael were taken in a small squirmish five years ago. Their two small children Michael the second and Morgan were killed as well."

"Morgan?"

He should have known she would catch the similarity, "Both boys were my godsons. Caroline's husband, Sonny, he was my," he paused trying to think of a name for the man who was Sonny Corinthos. Brave Warrior. Confidant. Friend. "Friend," he finally settled for, knowing its lack. He hadn't trusted many. Growing up an orphan, taunted for things beyond his control and then feared when his orgins began to rise, Sonny had been the one man who had seen past the fear of his legacy to the man he'd always known.

"I'm sorry." And from the sympathy in her eyes, he knew she understood. The platitude that he despised from so many, was a balm to a wounded heart.

"After Helena cursed Lucky, Luke was forced to accept a peace treaty. The other clans were demanding the truce from both Dark and Otherworld. The casualties were too many and neither clan could strike with enough power to destroy the other. So an agreement was set. Luke began searching for a way to cure Lucky, discovered the Stave of Nirvana."

"And me," she sighed softly.

"And you," he agreed. "I gave my vow to my Lord that I would protect you, Elizabeth, and I shall."

"I believe you," she murmured, leaning over to set the half filled mug to the table. The misery that spread over her face left him helpless. "I had hoped-" her voice trailed off and he knew he would never be able to allow her to leave that thought unfinished no matter the consequences.

"You had hoped?"

When she looked to him again, the invisible string that had somehow connected his heart to hers pulled taut, and there was a deeper significance to the visual interchange that could change everything.

The shattering of glass around them was a violent return to reality.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey. I've been very fortunate with these prompts. I didn't want to say anything for fear of jinxing it. Here's my next part, hope you like.

Rated:NC-17

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just like writing about them.

HFF07 #6: Violence and bloodshed

**The Dawn & The One**

**Chapter Six**

Jason Morgan was eighteen years old when he realized his legacy. It was a night that would live on in his nightmares for many years afterwards.

The decision to join the Imperial Guard at fifteen was an easy one. He wanted to protect the clan who had taken him from nothing and given him a life. Under the mentorship of his newest friend, Michael 'Sonny' Corinthos, he had dedicated himself to becoming worthy of the honor the Lord had bestowed upon him.

Not all children were presented with the opportunity to become Warriors, and the Imperial Guard were the elite of the Spencer clan. He was a nobody who had caught the eye of the Lady, so he had to struggle more, work harder, demand more of himself than any of the other _doves_ who had been nominated.

Swordsmanship, hand to hand combat styles and grueling physical labor had taken the lanky teen and reshaped him into a force of nature that none of the others could compete with. Within the first year he shot up at least six more inches in height. Muscle was packed onto an almost skinny body as shoulders expanded, thighs thickened, while arms and stomach became ripped with power.

The night of his eighteenth birthday two things changed his destiny forever.

The first was the betrayal of the Lady. Laura Spencer who had taken him under her guidance had thought of him as nothing more than a shield to be used to protect her son. A disposable shield.

The second was much more complicated. The pain of betrayal was nothing compared to the realization that he was truly alone in this world. The physical agony as his body had changed to adapt to his true path had torn a bellow of fury and agony from his soul that all who heard it could only shiver with foreboding.

So this night when he had lowered his guard and he and the woman he had swore upon his honor to protect were suddenly attacked, it was probably the first time since that painful night that he had been grateful for the two who had sired him.

"Elizabeth, get down!"

There were only seconds after the front livingroom windows shattered for him to prepare. He had no time to curse himself for failing to pay more attention to the safe guards he set and not to the entrancing blue of Elizabeth's eyes. For in this moment he knew the feelings he bore for her could possibly be the death of her this night. Then he would have to live with that failure for all eternity.

Through the large center bay window, there was a violent rush of wind, a blur of black barely filling his vision seconds before he felt the agonizing bite of claws dig into his chest. A furried muzzle was in his hands vibrating with fury as fangs deadlier than the sharpest swords snarled with the intent of ripping his throat out. The acid of the beast's saliva burned through his skin, as the muscles in his arms and chest strained.

They crashed into the floor so hard his vision blackened and an explosion of white filling his head. A claw scraped viciously across his chest, rending flesh to the bone freeing a roar of pain from his lungs. Before he could react another that would have sliced open his face was barely dodged, except for the one swipe to his jaw.

Hind legs stomped into his ribs, and he knew there were several broken from the sickening crack. He didn't think of how Elizabeth would react because if he allowed himself to faulter for one moment, this beast would rip him to shreds and then turn his murderous attention to her.

Instead he gathered his own preternatural strength, his mouth turned into a sneer of anger and determination, and ignored the pain coursing through his body. With a savage jerk, he ripped the mouth open, gritting his teeth as muscle tore, bone and cartilage snapped. The beast gave one final howl of agony as blood and gore expoded forth.

Later Elizabeth would say he looked like an avengening angel when he tossed the corpse aside and nimbly rolled to his feet, his stance already prepared to the next attack. She would learn how close those words were to the truth.

At some point during the grapple on the floor, Elizabeth had scrambled off the couch and made her way to the wall nearest the door. Her desperate attempt at escape was halted when two more lycanthropes leapt through the window, joined by their apparent controller an instant later.

For one insane moment they all stared at each other. The two lycanthropes amidst shattered glass, broken boards and the bloody remains of one of their pack. These panting, growling beasts were just the same as the one he dealt with before. Prime males. Over three hundred pounds of muscle and pure killing instinct. They made the four from the woods look like pups in comparison.

Blood diamonds were sealed into their foreheads, it's answering gleam just behind in the tall stately vampire who controlled them.

He didn't need Elizabeth's whimper of terror to tell him they were fucked. This situation was beyond bad unless he revealed the full extent of his potential.

"Lorenzo," he panted, flicking the dripping matter from his hands onto the floor.

"Jason," was the calm reply. The dark haired man adjusted the leather trench coat he wore over the black suit, with a negligent flick of his hand. If there was one thing he'd learned of Lorenzo Alcazar over the years of their aquaintance was the man never wasted a movement. So for him to reveal such a telling gesture meant there were things he wanted to speak to him about.

"So the Cassadines have recruited you, I see. Assasination isn't exactly your usual line of work."

He had met Lorenzo years ago during a mission to exterminate a coven of banshee that were terriorizing a settlement to the north of one of the Spencer's Ireland estates. Though on different sides, Lorenzo had been willing to help Jason for a little quid pro quo to be called in on a later date.

"Helena can be quite convincing when she wants to be."

"I see," which meant the bitch had something on him. "Well, what are your orders?"

"To kill you and return the White Mage or die trying."

Jason lifted a brow in wonder. He would have figured Helena to order both of their deaths rather than chance Elizabeth ever finding the Stave and realizing the full extent of her ablilities. So the Cassadines search was more than an attempt to keep the Spencers from curing their heir. The only question now was what plot was currently working through that daemons head now.

"The lycanthropes?"

"Expendable," Lorenzo lifted a shoulder in nonchalance. "Do you want to deal with them or shall I?"

"She gave you that power?"

"It was one of my conditions," he nodded once toward the beasts that were obviously straining against their leash. Lorenzo's calm facade demonstrated the strength of his will neither lycanthropes were a match for. Probably the reason why Helena had chosen him. He could be a formidable ally or a deadly enemy.

"I'll leave them to you then," he relented, not wanting Elizabeth to know the truth of him too soon. There were bound to be questions after his display with the first lycanthrope. The last thing he wanted was to frighten her away with too much information at one time. She still hadn't really decided whether she could trust him completely. Discovering the orgins of his birth was bound to place a huge wall between them.

The Blood Diamonds filled with crimson heat, each lycanthrope began howling in agony, struggling against the mental energy Lorenzo was filling them with. Blood began to mix with the saliva dripping from each muzzle until finally neither could withstand more of the torture and collapsed in a frothing heap, eyes rolling back only to expell a burst of blood.

Elizabeth gawked at the sight for several seconds, as if waiting for the beasts to leap from the floor and attack. When she realized they were actually dead, she began crawling toward him. He met her half way, no amount of relief could express how he felt when she held her arms out to him heedless of the blood that covered his body.

After scooping her into his arms heedless of his own injuries, he turned back to Lorenzo watching the rare play of emotions across his face. "Very interesting happenings, Jason. Very interesting indeed."

He didn't want to think of what the man could be seeing in his expression or what his eyes had unknowingly given away. "What does Helena have on you?"

"An agreement, of course. In exchange for the opportunity to allow Skye and our daughter to return to the Quartermaine estate, I would perform this one task for her."

"You can't be seriously considering working with her," he frowned, arms tightening around Elizabeth as she quaked in his embrace. She had endured much violence tonight and the fact that she wasn't in hysterics only proved the strength of the White Mage. "You know what will happen if the Cassadines get their hands on the Stave."

"And you know the laws, Jason. A demon can never go back on it's given word." Lorenzo actually sounded sorry and he could understand.

The union between Lorenzo and Skye, a vampire and an alchemist, was unheard of. He didn't want to think of all the laws of alchemy Skye had broken to give them a child. Jason never knew how the two met but he knew their relationship caused a lot of violent upheaval in both the Dark and Otherworld.

However the two loved each other and were completely devoted. And Helena would know to use their feelings for each other to her advantage. Still if Helena gave Skye the opportunity to return to the Quartermaines back in New York, she must be pretty confident of Lorenzo's cooperation.

"However," a devious smirk curved Lorenzo's lips, "I never said that I would accomplish the task _this_ evening. Nor did I actually give the bitch a time, so technically-"

"You haven't broken your word," Jason finished with a smile of his own. The devil sure was in those details. And trying to manipulate Lorenzo Alcazar was definitely a dance with a very sharp blade. Lorenzo had effectively assured his mate and child's safety and given Helena the proverbial finger in the process. "I thank you," he nodded in gratitude.

"You are most welcome, besides, no one of the Dark willingly gets on the bad side of the Shadow Knight. And even if we will end up on opposite ends of eternity, I do consider you a friend." Lorenzo dragged in a deep breath, "As such, I feel I should warn you. Remaining here for much longer is probably a bad idea. Once Helena realizes I'm not returning tonight with her quarry, she'll send more of those bastards after you." He gestured to the two dead lycanthropes on the floor.

"Are you sure you should be doing this?" He felt he should ask, despite knowing what would happen should Lorenzo choose to attack him, he still didn't like the possiblity of leaving the vampire to Helena's fury. Yet he didn't want to have to kill the vampire either.

"I was quite clear with my demands of Helena, she's not quite as quick as I am. She's so accustomed to her power she wouldn't believe anyone would attempt cross her. Besides, she wouldn't dare attack the Quartermaines, no matter her anger. The peace treaty between her and Spencers is already shaky. It would be all out war venture onto Quartermaine property."

"What are you going to do?"

"I've been meaning to see a little of Spain," he shrugged lightly, "It's a good time of year for a visit. You will deal with Helena and I'll be able to see _mi corizon _and _mi mija _soon enough." All demonic contracts were considered null and void if one of the parties were dead. It was an additional burden placed on his shoulders. Considering Lorenzo could have loosed the two lycanthropes on him, Jason understood the sacrifice the vampire was making and had even more to be grateful for.

Quid pro quo.

"Elizabeth," he waited until her beautiful gaze met his, "We need to clean up and get moving right away."

"She knows where the Stave is Jason," Lorenzo reminded him. "She will probably move there next."

"What will you do, Elizabeth? Whatever you decide, I'll stand with you. I won't allow Helena or anyone else to hurt you. I will protect you until my last breath, that is my vow."

Her slender fingers clenched briefly in his shirt, then one finger trailed along the length of his jaw near the cut a claw had torn into his skin. She glanced down at the blood coating her finger, at the gaping wounds of his chest. When her eyes returned to his he saw more than before.

He saw determination.

"The Stave is in the Alaskan Mountains."

Jason felt his mouth curve into a wry smile. Lorenzo's deep rich laughter made Elizabeth look back at him in wonder. "Your ancestor has a nasty sense of humor, Elizabeth."

Unfortunately, that only made turned Lorenzo's amusement up a notch further. "Don't be like that Jason. A little cold won't clip those wings of yours."


	7. Chapter 7

Eh, this one could probably be better. Time ran out on me. Alas, I shall endeavor to improve next installment. Enjoy.

Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just like writing about them.

**HFF07 #7: Hey kids, wants some candy?**

**The Dawn & The One**

Chapter Seven

"Jason?"

He stood beside a huge bed, bare chested with sculpted muscle that tempted her fingers to explore each strong ridge and hollow until she memorized every inch of the heated satin of his skin. A pair of black leather pants rode low on his hips molded perfectly to his legs and butt with a pair of shitkickers that meant business. Elizabeth was quickly reminded of the moment in the garage when she slid the hood from his head and how beautiful he looked. Now Jason looked like an ancient warrior, the last of honorable men who fought fiercely and loved deeply. There weren't many men like that left in this world. At least none she had dated.

When he glanced back over his shoulder, the soft glow of light behind him, a long lock of chestnut hair fell across his forehead. The image he presented was an enticement no woman would be able to resist.

"You shouldn't be standing yet." The concern in his voice, mirrored in those soulful azure eyes, belied his serious expression. He held white medical tape reminding her of the ragged scars that had been torn into his chest.

"I came to see how you're doing." Her shower went much faster than the first, given she could actually put a little weight on her leg now. "Whatever was in that stuff you put on my ankle works fast."

She watched as his gaze traveled the length of her body, determined not to be discomforted by the perusal. They were supposed to leave in less than twenty minutes, so she had struggled to make the extremely large clothes fit. This meant jogging pants rolled several times at the ankles and waist and another tunic, without the deep vee, and another pair of those huge black socks. It would have to do until they found the opportunity to stop in a store somewhere on the road.

"Hn."

She was going to get him to give her more than one of those quiet grunts that told her absolutely nothing of how he felt. "Can I ask you something?"

Elizabeth ignored the discomfort of entering his personal space and stepped into the bedroom so she could confront him. At his shrug, she moved in closer feeling slightly lightheaded when faced with the intensity of his presence. Rather than speak, she gestured for the tape in his hands. The slight lift of brow was his answer, so she took it and turned to his medical kit.

"This one," he murmured when she couldn't decide which he intended to use, passing her a jar of dark green cream that smelled of faintly mint and green tea.

Placing a dollop of cream onto her fingertips, she spread it carefully around the raw skin, flinching for him where he remained still. The wound wasn't as deep as she thought it would be but it would take a while for it to heal. Thankfully it looked red and there was no heat or it might have been infected. The last thing she wanted to think of was an infected werewolf wound. The implications were enough to make her stomach swim.

She placed a gauze patch and tape over each scratch, her fingers slicking down the final piece of tape before she dared meet his eyes and risk her question. "Do you trust me?"

Something flickered in his eyes, and she had to wonder if he trusted anyone. She could already feel him building mental space between them. What had happened in his life to cause that wariness? Had his life been like hers? Cold. Barren of affection. "You asked me to trust you. You asked me to trust that you would protect me and I do, Jason. You've proven it more than once. So why can't you give me the same?"

His expression was a mask of stone and it made her want to beat her fists against his chest in frustration. "I don't know what you want from me."

"I want you to trust me. I want to know why you practically shoved Lorenzo out the door just a while ago."

"He's a vampire."

"He's your friend," she countered. "Everything was fine until he made that comment about clipping your wings. Then you got cold and empty and you wouldn't look me in the eyes. You put up a wall between us and I want to know why."

"I didn't," he tried to look away but she grabbed his chin, met his taut gaze with a defiant one. He wasn't going to brush her off, not him. She had been brushed off by her family all of her life. Jason might not feel the same attraction she had for him but she would be damned if he would treat her as if her feelings didn't matter.

"You want me to trust you, well you're going to have to trust me too. What was he talking about?"

"It doesn't concern you."

"Everything about this mess concerns me," she whispered, the hurt and longing for acceptance lay naked in her eyes. "I have people who are willing to either kidnap or kill me just because of some freak genetic legacy that I've never heard of until tonight. I have a right to know who is on my side and who isn't."

"I _am_ on your side. My being able to protect you has nothing to do with what Lorenzo was speaking of."

"So you don't trust me," she closed her eyes, her heart aching with pain.

"I didn't say that." His hands closed on her shoulders, snaping her gaze back to his and somehow she could see the conflict within him. She wanted to beg him to see that she understood, that she knew the harsh realities of loneliness and he didn't have to face the pain alone anymore.

"Then what are you saying? What are you keeping from me?" His grim expression almost backed her off. Almost. "How were you able to rip that werewolf apart with your bare hands? I saw lightening and fire come from your swords back there in the forest. Are you a demon too? Is that what you're trying to keep from me? Do you think I care if you are?"

His tensed at her words and there was an almost imperceptible note of pleading in his eyes for her to let this go. But she couldn't because something deep inside her was telling her his secret was important. More important than the Stave, or these Cassadines and Spencers that each wanted something from her.

This was about her and Jason and letting it go could mean the difference between a step toward something wonderful or an opportunity lost forever.

Slender hands trembling with emotion cupped his face. She brushed the damp lock of hair away, smoothing the line of worry from his brow before allowing her hands to rest on his chest. "Tell me. Trust me. Please, Jason."

Strong hands slid down, the touch almost unbearable in it's gentleness, encircling her waist protectively. He lowered his head and emotion tremored through her body as he caressed his cheek against hers then pulled away. A line of concentration deepened along his brows and under his eyes, gradually smoothed, and she couldn't choke back her breath of shock. Slowly his skin seemed to illumniate with a soft golden glow.

A muscle quivered at his jaw, his chest jerking as she waited half in anticpation and half in dread at what could possibly happen next. It was more than she dared imagine and it took her breath away.

"How?" Her eyes widened as she watched ethereal white wings stretch from Jason's back. There was a brush of wind across her face then they expanded majestically. An Angel. How was this possible? He was a man. His heart beat beneath her fingertips. Blood rushed through his veins. He could be hurt.

"I am a Nephilim." His words were so soft she almost didn't hear them. "My mother was a human and my father an Angel. I was found by Luke Spencer when I was ten years old. Living on the streets. Eating out of garbage cans. I never understood why none of the other street children wanted to be around me. Not until I turned eighteen."

"You sound ashamed." His eyes told her it was one of many emotions he felt. "Did you ever find your mother?"

"She died when I was born. As for my father, I don't know. I don't care."

"May I?" she whispered and he hesitated, measuring her for a moment before inclining his head once.

A wing curled slowly toward her as she lifted a trembling hand. She thought it would feel like feathers, as it looked remarkably like the graceful wing of a dove but it's texture was nothing like a feather. It was nothing like she could even comprehend. There was no comparison for what should have been impossible.

If she had thought him beautiful before, now it was as if a film had been removed from her sight. Now he radiated a power and serenity that something deep inside her was drawn to. "Jason?"

"Elizabeth," his husky voice simmered with the same barely checked emotion echoed in her own. The wings she marveled at closed gently around her as she stepped into his embrace.

One moment she was wishing for the slow sweet hunger of his kiss and the next his mouth covered hers fulfilling her every desire.

Lips moist and firm, flavored with tenderness and need, moved against hers. His hand was slightly calloused from the sword he wielded, the battles he had fought and demons he slew. Yet as his fingers slid into her hair to cup the back of her head and tilt it back to deepen the caress all she felt was a sense of protection mix into the soul searing intimacy of their kiss.


	8. Chapter 8

I am very late with this part. It's been a very busy day and I didn't have the opporunity to write.

Anyway, I hope you like.

Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just like writing about them.

**HFF07 #8: The girl needs some monster in her man.**

**  
**

**The Dawn & The One**

**Chapter Eight**

"I saw a shopping mall for the next exit, we could stop there to pick up some clothes and supplies for the last of the trip. Afterwards, we should grab something to eat and maybe a room at a motel."

Not that she was complaining because the Pontiac GTO was more than comfortable with it's huge leather bucket seats but they had been driving for several hours now and if Jason was half as tired as she was it was a wonder he hadn't driven them off the road a long time ago.

"We should get closer to Cheyenne before we stop." The calm response was a lot better than the stilted awkwardness that had plagued them for the beginning of the trip.

It wasn't everyday a woman discovered the man she was falling for was a Nephilim. It certainly wasn't a usual occurance to be kissed senseless by one. When they had pulled apart, out of breath and equally shocked by how fast a simple kiss had grown out of control, she had tried to save them both the embarassment of explainations by making herself scarce.

By unspoken agreement both didn't mention the moment of passion and for the time being it was probably best that way. She needed time to think about what had happened. Everything was happening so fast. One second she would believe some of the danger had passed for it to only rise harsher than the first.

Then there were the revelations Jason sprung on her about her family and hertiage that was obviously being kept secret. If she thought they would tell her the truth, she would confront them except she knew any hopes of learning the secrets of the Webber history wouldn't be told from her closed lipped, tight assed family.

Take in account her personal feelings and the man she was discovering a growing attraction for and her life was currently spiraling out of control.

"I have a friend who can fly us into Alaska without much trouble and keep us under Helena's radar for the time being. She knows too much to avoid her completely but we don't need to lay out bread crumbs for her to follow."

Elizabeth was beginning to wish she had never heard the name Cassadine. "I understand that, but sooner or later I'm going to need more than your oversized clothes. I just thought it might be better to do this now and not have to worry about it later."

"Hn." The really sad part was that she was beginning to understand the subtle nuances of that sound. He was considering the validity of her suggestion. "We'll stop for the clothes. Make sure you get warm stuff, but not so heavy that it will weight you down. Thermal underwear, thick socks. Boots, and outer gear. We can pick up survival gear when we get to Alaska. Best to do it there anyway."

"Uh, Jason? I don't have any money." In fact she had nothing. No money, identification, so how the hell was she supposed to do anything with those basic neccesities.

"Don't worry about it," he shrugged off her worry. "I'll pay for everything, you just have to make sure-"

"You'll pay for it?" Given the wince on his normally stoic expression she was as loud as she thought she sounded. "I'm not a leech, I can certainly afford to pay my own way." Of course she chose to forget for the moment she was incapable of doing so. "I don't need anyone to pay my way for anything, you know."

"I don't think you're a leech."

"And I'm not helpless either," she felt obligated to point out for some reason. Jason had been saving her for most of the night and she didn't want him thinking she was incapable of taking care of herself. "Just because I can't fight demons doesn't mean I can't contribute."

"I never thought you couldn't," the sincerity in those cerelean eyes halted what could have been an unnecessary tangent. "You're probably one of the strongest women I've ever met, Elizabeth. I don't know many who could have exprienced everything you have tonight and taken it so well. So I don't think you're helpless and if it makes you feel more comfortable you can pay me back for the clothes and stuff."

"I just don't want you to think that I can't take care of myself," or that she was worthless like her family did.

One of his large hands covered hers that were clenched knuckle white in her lap. Heat ignited when skin met skin so when his fingers threaded with hers, squeezed, she was left with the unfamiliar but welcomed sensation of acceptance. "There are a great many things I think of you Elizabeth. Helpless is not one of them."

She stared at his profile for a long time, the sun hovering just over the horizon, illuminating his face and reminding her Jason was so much more than she might be prepared for. How did a human woman have a relationship with a Nephilim? Judging from the contempt in his voice, Jason bore his parents many harsh feelings. Were they for his birth or for leaving him alone? Did he have something against a human and an angel having romantic feelings for each other?

When would they find the time to figure all of this out if they were chasing down the Stave, fighting off Cassadines and healing cursed Spencers?

More tired than she could ever remember being, Elizabeth curled her legs under her and leaned against his arm. "Thank you." She knew she would be repeating the phrase many times to come.

"We'll get a room near the mall first so you can rest. I'll touch bases with my contact so he knows we're coming. Then we'll go shopping and get back on the road. Until then, close your eyes, Elizabeth. I'll keep you safe."

She drew a deep breath into her lungs, relieving the burning fatigue in her eyes by letting the lids drift closed. Before blackness claimed her a smile touched her lips, "I know."

_**XXXXooXXXX**_

The plan was simple. Drive out of Denver into Cheyenne, Wyoming where they would hitch a ride into Alaska with one of the many associates he had accumulated over the years. Helena wouldn't expect him to be foolish enough to take a commerical flight into Alaska but he knew she would cover as many bases as she could in order to get to Elizabeth. It was his responsiblity to out think and out maneuver a millenia old daemon and keep Elizabeth safe until she claimed the Stave.

The feelings simmering in his blood were not part of the the plan.

No matter how many times he told himself the absurdity of the ill advised thoughts running through his head, he would remember the touch of her skin beneath his fingertips. His senses would fill with the memory of her taste, her scent. Then he would find himself unable to take the steps away from her that would keep his emotions cold and detached. The need to protect and possess, were stronger than any barrier he could contruct between them.

He wasn't supposed to rent a motel room and carry her into their shared room. He definitely wasn't supposed to tuck her into bed, then sit in a chair across the room for the next four hours watching her. Memorizing her face wasn't part of the plan. Not her lashes, a dark fan sweeping across her cheekbones or her smooth ivory skin marred by the smudges beneath her eyes and faint lines of worry marring her brow. Certainly not her temptingly full mouth.

The trip through the Walmart wasn't supposed to be enjoyable. He wasn't supposed to be just at the edge of laughter as she picked over jeans and sweaters and tossed them into the basket muttering about nosey people minding their own buisness.

Somehow he covered the flash of a smile before she could see it when they reached the counter to pay for her abundance of purchases and finally snapped on a tight lipped older woman. Salt and pepper hair scrapped painfully back into a bun, wearing plain black pants and a servicable white blouse, the female had loudly complained about trashy women and their lack of morals while looking pointedly at Elizabeth.

Words like bitter old woman and pots, kettles, stones and glasshouses were flung with a sharp edge he couldn't help blink at. The resentment he could hear in Elizabeth's voice couldn't all be aimed at the woman and her thoughtless words, so he added another check in the column of injuries the Webber family had inflicted.

Jason had to silently admit, Elizabeth did look just a bit sensual tinged with pale innocence, though completely unintentional. After waking in the hotel, she had washed up in the small bathroom, unbraiding her hair so that it tumbled carelessly around her beautiful face and down her back. He had stared down more than one man watching the gentle sway of her hips even if he should feel guilty for staring as well.

Back in the car, he stopped at a resturaunt so she could change clothes in the bathroom. He didn't know if he should be grateful for her purchases or curse the person who decided denim was supposed to ride her agilely rounded hips that way. The fitted blue cowl necked sweater wasn't supposed to tease him with her firm uptilted breats sized just right for the palm of his hands and a slim waist.

There was no way he would be able to sit and perform the mundane task of eating with the visual stimulation she provided sitting across from him. So there was bite to his voice when he suggested she get the food to go and for the first ten minutes of their ride, she refused to speak to him.

"Are you angry with me because of the scene with that old biddy back in the store?" Of course the silent treatment wouldn't last long. Elizabeth might be mad about his behavior but she wasn't the type to hold it in and stew.

"I'm not angry with you at all," he tried to concentrate on the road and not on the way her newly tinted rosy lips closed on the straw of her soda.

"I guess you're just naturally inclined to be abrupt with me then." She muttered, digging into the large white bag to emerge with a french fry. She stuffed several more into her mouth and chewed before turning that defiant gaze back in his direction. "So if it's not about my arugement, what's ruffled your feathers then?"

At the dry look he spared her, she wiggled her brows playfully, then nudged him with her shoulder, "Oh, come on Jason. That was funny and you know it."

"Hn."

"Uh-oh, the dreaded hn." she teased perversely. "Those can mean anything. Now, now Jason fess up, since you claim you're not angry with me, mind explaining why you terrified that poor guy who took our order and demanded that we get our meal to go when it wouldn't have killed us to stop for thirty more minutes."

"We needed to get back on the road."

"Yeah, right. Sure. That's your story and you're sticking to it," she huffed. Then she surprised the hell out of him by taking out several napkins, laying them on the space between them and some across his lap. Next she took out his cheeseburger, carefully arranging it so that he could drive one handed and take a bite at the same time. The fries, she set on the make shift picnic between them.

"Eat your lunch," she snapped, biting into her own sandwich.

"It was better than the alternative," he murmured, he waited to see if she would respond to the subtle challenge in his voice. He had been holding back the raging emotions for too long and no matter how Angelic his wings might seem, he was still very much a hot blooded and very aroused man.

"And what was the alternative?"

"Snapping the bastard's neck for looking at my ass."

"He wasn't looking at _your_ ass, he was looking at mine."

"Exactly."


	9. Chapter 9

I can't believe it's been nine days already! This challenge has been great for getting back in the habit of writing every day. I only hope I can keep it up after the challenge is over.

Here's the next installment, hope you like.

Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just like writing about them

**HFF07 #9: And the lights went out in Port Charles **

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**The Dawn & The One**

**Chapter Nine**

_"That's the night the lights went out in Georgia. That's the night that they hung an innocent man. Don't trust your soul to no back woods southern lawyer, Cause the judge in the towns got bloodstains on his hand."_

Elizabeth edged closer to Jason as they entered the hanger that looked more like an abandoned barn sitting out in the middle of nowhere than a place where a thriving air carrier service operated. It was clearly a case of more than meeting the eye. The lightly accented voice sounded strange warbling the lyrics to the Gothic country song and given the snicker of laughter she heard someone else felt the same way.

Inside the structure was a bush plane and boy was it a beauty. Two men, tall and dark blonde were both stripped down to bare chests and streaked with oil as they argued over something. The taller, had a more athletic build with a sort of California surfer boy look going for him in those jeans and sandals he wore. The other older man was his opposite, tough, lean and sinewy with an urbane grace that didn't seem at odds with his animalistic air that couldn't be hidden.

Each were handsome in their own way and if she had to guess, Elizabeth would say they could be related in some way. Perhaps even brothers.

"You are one sick son of a bitch you know that Jerry," the younger shoved the man hard in the shoulder, ignoring the heavy wrench in the man's hand.

"Better not let Lady Jane hear you talking like that. Would probably earn you a smack in the head," he smirked without a hint of remorse. When the other man raised a fist in retailiation, Jerry waved him off, "Besides we have company little brother, now be on your best behavior."

Both men turned with identical grins of welcome, "Well if it isn't our warrior angel himself. I can't imagine what brings you to darken our door step this evening, Mr. Morgan."

It certainly was a change of pace to be greeted with a friendly tone rather than animosity. She was beginning to wonder if everyone in Jason's world wanted her dead. A second later she was leaping to the side in shock as Jason and the man named Jerry collided in mid air in a wild fury of blows. They slammed to the ground in wild cloud of dust and dirt. She could only gape as the two men rolled across the floor in a vicious brawl of fists slamming into the other's face.

"Well leave it to me to perform the introductions why don't you." Elizabeth blinked up at the young man, the back at the space where he was supposed to be standing.

"How did-"

"I get over here that fast. One of there perks of being a Thief luv," and she couldn't help but respond in kind to the warm smile crinkling his soft blue eyes. Whatever was going on with the two currently beating the shit out of each other, this one wasn't a threat unless her instincts were completely off. "Have to be able to move faster than the eye, runs in the family of course. I'd say I'm a bit quicker than Jerry there."

"That's a bloody lie," the grunted retort was cut off when Jason slammed a boot to his gut knocking Jerry from his advantage over him. She watched in awe as Jerry backflipped easily to land, feet and hands braced on the ground like a predator, ready to spring forward at a the first opportunity.

"Name's Jasper Jacks," he extended a hand to her, which she accepted to shake firmly and gave her own name. "The man currently getting wiped across the floor by Jason is my older brother Jerry. Welcome to Razzia Carrier service where if you need to get in unseen, they'll never know you were there."

After Jasper finished, they both flinched when Jason flung Jerry across the room to land in a pile of old boxes with a groan of profanity.

_XXXooXXX_

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and dabbed at the blood left on the split lip Jason was trying to pretend like he hadn't earned. An older woman, petite and quite remarkable in her khaki pants and heavy fisherman's sweater, with a cap of white and silver hair, was wiping medicine across Jerry's brow on the cut there.

The infamous Lady Jane, mother to both Jerry and Jasper Jacks, was a mixture of biting wit and kindness Elizabeth wished she could have grown up with. They were all crowed around a circular table in the small kitchen area of the office at the rear of the hanger tending to the wounded.

The image of the small fiery woman rushing from the back with a sawed off shot gun in hand ready to do battle made Elizabeth smile once again. Lady Jane took one look at Jason, then her oldest and rolled her eyes bursting into laughter. After a quick hug Jason awkwardly returned, Jane turned to her wayward son. "I don't know when that deliquent will learn he will never get the upper hand on you, Jason."

Evidently the little grudge match she witnessed was somewhat of a tradition between Jason and Jerry and the imagined animosity didn't exist.

"I swear," Jane sighed, closing up her medical kit that looked strangely like Jason's, "When will the two of you stop knocking each other upside the head? Aren't you too old to be brawling like a pair of buffoons?"

"It was Jerry's fault as usual," Jasper pointed out, then took a swig from the bottle of Lager he was nursing. If Elizabeth didn't know better she would swear Jasper actually sounded a little jealous.

"Mama's boy," Jerry smirked, then flinched when Jane shoved his head to the side.

"Will you and Elizabeth be joining us for dinner then? I've had a pot of stew simmering all afternoon while I was doing the books and Jerry managed some of his brown bread." Jason looked to her, cerelean eyes softening at her eager nod and agreed.

"Careful, Elizabeth, Mum's famous with the stew. You never quite know what's inside it." Jerry murmured, before lifting her hand to place a kiss against her knuckles. That earned him a glare from Jason that promised pain in the future. The small warm tug in her stomach in response should not have made her so happy. "I believe the last time she took it upon herself to make one we dined on rabbit that evening."

That made her pale, "Thumper?"

Jasper burst into laughter, "Oh, she's one of those. Better not tell her about the time we roasted Bambi on a spit, she'd be scared for life."

"Never mind the two of them," Jane placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as she set the table with bowls and saucers, "They're just being the children they are. I'll have you know this is a simple lamb stew."

"You don't think fluffy sheep are cute do you?" Jasper teased before slipping out of his chair to avoid a knock to the head from Jane. He played the whole thing off by pretending to grab a bottle of red wine from the rack by the cabinets. Then pouring a glass for each of them as his mother ladeled stew.

"This wasn't exactly a social visit I'm afraid," Jason cut into the light atmospere. "I was hoping to catch a ride up to Yukon territory. If I'm not mistaken you have a cabin up there right?"

"One that you're perfectly welcome to use," Jane offered easily. "All of the winter gear is still stored up there. We'll get you loaded with food here. I'm guessing you're getting ready to go to war with the Cassadines."

Jason lifted a brow but said nothing to deny or confirm her inquiry. "Oh, you know these two keep me informed on the general goings on of Otherworld, despite the fact that I choose to keep my nose out of realm politics." The Jacks had been formidable in their time but with the assasination of John Jacks, Lady Jane had withdrawn to the human world. Her sons continued with the Jacks thriving business.

"That's what Jerry was singing about earlier when you arrived. It even made the human news sources back in New York." Jasper accepted the bowl of steaming stew from his mother, helping to pass the others around.

"What are you talking about?"

"It seems that Ric finally took it upon himself to lay siege to Castle Greyskull out there on Spoon Island in Port Charles." Beneath the humor in Jerry's words was a seriousness that no one in at the small table could miss.

"That's Wyndemere," Jasper explained after chewing thoughtfully, "The Cassadines main estate is in Greece but for some reason, I personally believe to torture the Spencers, they bought an island near Port Charles, New York and have been living there for the past fifteen years or so."

"We all knew Ric didn't take Sonny's death well," Jerry offered in sympathy. He took a long draw from his glass of red wine before setting it back on the table. "It was just a matter of time until he went after the revenge he promised. Almost succeeded too, if it weren't for those damned demons Helena has under her thumb. Wiped out three tribes of Beserkers, Jason. The rest sought sanctuary at the Spencer estate."

"Is Ric dead?"

When Jerry nodded once, Jason shoved away from the table and stalked out of the room. "Who is Ric?" Elizabeth asked after a tense moment of silence passed.

"Sonny's younger half brother. Came from a Beserker tribe near Lake Winnipeg in Canada. They weren't raised together but managed to find each other when Ric reached adulthood. Sonny made Jason promise to look after him but when Sonny was killed Ric went back with his tribe. Swore he'd come back and deal with Helena since Jason didn't have the balls to do it." Jasper explained.

"Beserkers aren't known for their intelligence in highly emotional situations," Jerry grunted, before finishing off his serving of stew. "It didn't help that he was jealous of Jason and Sonny's friendship."

Then he shrugged, turning shrewd eyes in her direction, "So you're the White Mage, Elizabeth Webber. Not quite what I was expecting, given the Webber genes and the propensity of baring blonde haired idiots in these latest years."

She was probably supposed to feel insulted on behalf of her family but it was hard to argue with the truth. It didn't help that she felt the same way. "However, you my dear are quite lovely and quite powerful," he took her hand again, drawing her gaze. Everything around her seemed to still, as if she had entered a darkened tunnel and her sole focus of light was Jerry's eyes.

Her heartbeat sounded echoed like a base drum in her head. She could see Jerry's lips moving but nothing came out as it felt like she was floating. Something hummed deep at her core, and pulsed once, hard and powerful.

"Get out of her head before I cut your fucking eyes out Jerry."

Jason's growl jerked her back to reality, as she snatched her hands away, unsure of what had just happened. When warm hands closed around her shoulders the queasy sensation began drifting away and she felt safe once more. "What happened?"

"Jerry is an interfereing son of a bitch who needs to learn to mind his own business."

That earned Jason a soft smile of humor that didn't quite meet Jerry's eyes, "If she's going up against Helena, she'll need to open those beautiful blue eyes of hers a lot sooner Jason and both of us know it."

"It isn't your call to make."

Elizabeth looked between both men wondering what the hell they were talking about but knowing she could learn more if she listened instead of interrupting the near arguement. Jason stood behind her, wings spread regally, his entire being braced for battle. This was different from the little tussle from before. Jason looked ready to kill Jerry.

"Who's decision is it then Jason? The girl is completely ignorant of her legacy, seeking the Stave without giving her at least a nudge in the right direction is sending her to her death."

"And you're going to give her that nudge," he grunted, "No one asked you to. And you sure as hell aren't doing it out of the kindness of your heart."

"I'm doing it because you're my friend," Jerry's faint smile held a touch of sadness that Elizabeth didn't quite understand. "I happen to like her and I believe you do as well Jason. Prepare her for the tasks that lie ahead. No one could better than you. Give her a chance. As much as you want to protect her, there will come a time when she will need to stand on her own."


	10. Chapter 10

I'm late. Don't tell anyone.

This by far is the scariest prompt to me. Maybe it's because Halloween is on my list of all time scary movies. I mean even the music...brrrrr.

Song Lyrics credit: _**The Sky and the Dawn and the Sun**_ from the album _Celtic Woman A New Journey_

Hope you like.

Rated:NC-17   
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just like writing about them. 

HFF07 #10: **"I met him fiften years ago; I met this man with this blank pale emotionless face and the blackest eyes; the Devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that man's eyes was purely and simply...evil."** Dr. Sam Loomis, Halloween

**The Dawn & The One**

Chapter Ten

The Jacks family cabin could only be described as such because of the mere fact that it was built with wood and stone. Ranch style, with seven bedroom, three baths, the structure seemed an extension of the mountain it was built at the base of. Jerry explained the balance of construction and magick which made the wonder possible but even then she was quite amazed.

The rustic charm of the cabin was reinforced by the layering of natural texures, raw wood, heavy very masculine leather and rough stone. Yet she could see Lady Jane's touch throughout the quaint home with each carefully chosen fabric, decoration and finish. The beautiful aftghan folded over the arm of a recliner in front of the fireplace told of quiet time spent relaxing before a roaring fire. The large festive kitchen where Elizabeth could imagine the Jacks family's loud but loving arguements was so very different from the cold room and the layer of bitterness always present any time her family gathered.

After a light breakfast the Jacks brothers retired to their respective rooms but not before she glimpsed the rather pointed glare Jerry aimed in Jason's direction. A less than subtle reminder about this push Jason was to give her about her legacy.

"What did Jerry do to me?" She had held off this question until they were alone because she trusted the answer from Jason. Jerry and Jasper were both very nice to her, but everyone she encountered had their own agendas as far as she was concerned. Though she didn't know theirs, she couldn't rule out the possibility. "Back in Cheyenne. You were furious, Jason. I don't think I'd ever seen you that angry before. When you were fighting the werewolves there was just this cold determination. It was ruthless but I don't think it was filled with as much rage as you were feeling toward Jerry."

Jason crossed the room, his face as usual giving none of his emotions away but she had learned to read those eyes of his. This wasn't a conversation he wanted to have. Probably because it was too close to Jerry's words from before.

"The Jacks family and many like them are called Thieves. It's not just because they steal things, though the Jacks have made it a profitable business." The glint of humor in those piercing eyes was welcome. "A Thief is capable of absorbing a gift for a moment in time. Jerry's very talented, he's learned to utilize his lifted gifts for hours, sometimes days."

"So when the two of you were fighting-"

"He took one of mine," he finished for her. "A very powerful one but he can't use it the way I can. He can only take a look in someone's head. When I came in the room to find him using it on you, it was falling apart but he had accomplished exactly what he set out to do."

"Which was?"

"To piss me off," his blue eyes narrowed in annoyance, "Jerry is looking to shift things around in Otherworld. He wants to place the Jacks family back into the thick of things. He knows that if he helps the Spencers get rid of the Cassadines, they will owe him a favor. One that he can use when he finds the right opportunity."

"I thought he was your friend," she was offended on his behalf, but he released a long audible breath and placed a comforting hand on top of hers.

"The Jacks family has been good to me and come through when I've been in trouble, so I suppose I would consider them friends. It's hard for a man like me to make and keep friends considering my heritage. Most are weary of me."

She could understand demons being afraid around him but if they had did nothing wrong, why would anyone else fear Jason? He wasn't just going around dishing out retribution at his personal whims. From everything she learned about Jason, he was honorable and loyal. Ruthless, yes. Powerful, undoubtedly. But unfair? Not at all.

"Jerry wants his family back in the position they maintained in Otherworld. I concur, the Jacks family will provide a much needed balance."

"So this thing that Jerry did to me? I still don't quite understand what it was." All she knew was that it shook her and the memory of it still did. "Is that what Jerry wants you to do to me? Will it unlock this White Mage ability I'm supposed to have?"

"Not exactly," he stood, obviously uncomfortable. He squatted before the fireplace, stirring the burning logs and gathering his thoughts. "I can help you see certain things that are already imprinted on your soul but being a White Mage is something only you can discover for yourself."

"And you're reluctant to do this, because?"

Jason tilted his head, the flickering light shadowing his profile. "Purely selfish motives," his voice carefully colored in neutral shades, "I'm reluctant to see that look in your eyes."

This was more important than she realized. How could she have not understood? Wasn't so much of this adventure of hers clouded with her feelings for him? So why shouldn't Jason have his own fears even if he was very careful to keep any attraction to himself.

The one slip in the car on the way to Cheyenne was a light when she needed to find her way through the maze of confusing emotions. That possesiveness told her she wasn't alone in her feelings and where she normally would hate that behavior in another man for someone like Jason to have such a revealing moment she could actually hold it close to her heart.

She pushed to her feet and went to him, sitting cross legged on the floor and waited until he was ready to face her. Mirroring her postion, he came close looking down at her intensely as she gathered his hands into hers. "Nothing is going to change the way I see you Jason," she reassured him. "I'm the one that's a big mystery here. Maybe you'll start looking at me differently."

"I've always seen you," he murmured, "I see all of you and you're beautiful."

His words made her heart jolt, her pulse pound out a rapid beat, "I'm not really but thank you I guess," her voice was breathy but the idea of him thinking her beautiful sent her spirits soaring.

"You are," his gaze was soft as a caress as it traveled over her face, then downward across her body. Hunger flared in those Celtic depths, and it had nothing to do with gifts and everything sensual and passionate between a man and a woman.

"So," she stamped back the jangle of excitement heating her blood, "We should probably, try to do it then. Right? I mean if Helena Cassadine knows where the Stave is, then she knows I'll be trying to get it. The sooner I figure out who I am, the better."

"You're right," he drew in a breath, licking his lips tempting her to lean forward and repeat the action with her own tongue. "Do you want to wait and get some rest?"

"No, now. I took a nap on the plane."

"Was that before or after you were killing my hands with your fingernails?" He teased playfully.

"It was really bad turbulence," she ignored the warmth of his appeal. No way was she admitting she had a thing about flying.

"Sure." He drawled, telling her he wasn't buying what she was trying to sell. Then his expression stilled and grew serious. "If at any time you want me to stop, just say my name, Elizabeth."

"I'll be fine," she nodded quickly, nerves shifting to life now that they were really going to do this. "I'm with you, so I know I'll be safe."

_**XXooXX**_

_The woman's grip on the reins of her mount was steady though her heart was pounding with terror and dread. After a vicious burst of wind, she tightened her hold on the leather straps murmuring a calm chant to the horse who was growing tired and cold under the force of the blizzard. The cloak and cowl she wore was lined with the most precious of sable but no match for the storm._

_A burst of wind blew open the tail, revealing the wet linen of her chainse beneath. The matching knee-lenth bliant didn't provide much warmth but she had chosen the long over gown, for it's beauty. The linen was a perfect match for her eyes, or so she had been told, it's square neckline embroidered with rose threads fashioned into the design of dainty rosebuds. The wedding gown she would have worn two days ago. Before her love was slaughtered before her very eyes. He would see her dressed as she would have to promise herself to him. That would be her victory._

_She would leave this world on her own terms, not the daemon who pursued her. The Stave must be protected for the one who would follow. She had traveled from her village in Wales and this snow and cold would not stop her from reaching the Phantom Keep. Deep in the mountains of the Highlands she had no fear that it would find it's way to the one who it belonged. The Stave had afterall come to her when she needed it most. However she was past her prime and the daemon who threatened them all knew it. She wasn't strong enough to defeat it even with the Stave, so she must preserve it for the one who was._

_"There it is," she murmured, finally feeling a spot of relief. The horse tried to rear but she slid easily from the saddle, walking it to the grove of trees near the entrance. She understood the animal's fear. The power resonating through this place gnawed away at her confidence. Nonetheless, she would travel the remainder of the way on foot._

_She paid no mind to the malevolent clouds building in the sky, nor to the taint of evil growing in the wind. Once inside the Courtyard, none dare enter. Not even a daemon. It had failed._

_It was much easier to manuever her way through the Temple than her first time. The memory of the trials she endured echoed like her steps through the halls. She could feel the Temple calling out to the Stave in anticipation of it's return._

_At the entrance to the Hall of Omnis, soft blue light began to glow from the pedalstal, piercing through the dark. Just as before she could hear the serene voices lift in song. She crossed the floor, a tear slipping down her cheek as she returned the piece of her soul that would soon belong to another._

_**"I am the Dawn; I'm the new day begun. I bring you the morning, I bring you the sun. I hold back the night and I open the skies. I give light to the world, I give sight to your eyes. From the first of all time, until Time is undone. Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. I am the Dawn and The Sky and the Sun. I am one with the One and I am...the Dawn."**_

_A trembling hand lay the Stave across the deep blue fabric where it would wait until her heir was needed. As her fingertips slipped away, a bright flash of light blinded her and she found herself back at the entrance of the Keep and facing the Daemon that pursued her._

_**XXooXX**_

Elizabeth's scream of agony tore at his heart, making the hands that gripped her arms tighten. He knew what she'd seen, for he knew Helena Cassadine with her mask torn away. It was a sight not many could witness and come away unscathed.

"Elizabeth," he shook her hard, raising them both to their knees. Waiting for her eyes to return from the memory of a battle that she had not fought. She struggled against him, her fingers clenching at his chest, still in the tortured visions.

When her sightless eyes rolled to the back of her head, the skin around her throat blistering with red welts, he knew she was in more danger than he realized. The choking coughs had icy fear twisting around his heart. "Elizabeth, come back to me now." She gasped, unhearing, panting with pain and terror as her hands began to shake. Then her lips began turning blue.

"Elizabeth!" His roar must have alerted the others because he could distantly hear footsteps growing closer.

Air, his mind screamed at him. She needed air. Something was choking the very life from her lungs. Without thinking, he covered her mouth with his.

_**XXooXX**_

Now, Jerry Jacks had seen a great many things in his life. Some good. Some bad. But when he was torn from a very strange dream by Jason's bellow, he didn't pause to consider that he might be stepping into something dangerous. Obviously his little brother who was burst out of his bedroom at the exact same time felt the same way.

So when they pounded down the stairs to be greeted with the sight of Jason in all his divine glowing, wings extended with Elizabeth in his arms hovering in the air, the grin that crept across his face was a mere echo of his anticipation. A bright white light began to hum from Elizabeth's skin, mixing with Jason's and he heard Jasper's chuckle of amusment.

Yes indeed, things were getting quite interesting.


	11. Chapter 11 & 12

Time unfortunately slipped away from me the last two days and I wasn't able to post until now. I will have the last installment up later on. For now, hope you like these two and I'm sorry they're so late.

I thought the Halloween quote would be my favorite prompt but I was wrong, yesterdays Stephen King tops the list. I am _definitely_ a "Constant Reader!!"

Thanks for the great reviews! 

Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I simply like writing about them 

**HFF07 #11: Sweet n' Tart**

**The Dawn & The One**

**Chapter Eleven**

The all-terrain vehicle steadily made it's way through the pass, rocking occasionally but continuing on under the guidance of Jasper. Jerry sat in the passenger seat with a map while Jason dozed on the seat across from her. They waited a day before setting out, discussing her vision and how Helena had attacked her through the memory of her ancestors death. Then making plans because Jason and Jerry understood Helena was going to do everything in her power to keep her away from the Stave or obtain it for herself.

Jasper had been the least confident, first with all of his questions on how she knew the Phantom Keep would be there. During those moments of her vision something had been awakened in her, exactly as Jerry knew it would. She didn't quite understand any of the gifts she was supposed to have, but she could feel them rushing through her blood just waiting. So she simply knew the Keep would be there.

Then Jasper wanted to know how they were going to defeat Helena. Elizabeth was hesitant to agree but he did have a point. Helena Cassadine had been around for centuries and if her ancestor hadn't been strong enough to defeat her, how was she, someone just awakening her abilities, supposed to?

No one answered that question because there was no answer. The only advantage she had over her ancestor was Jason's presence while the other had been alone. Would it be enough?

Elizabeth had gone to bed with the memory of Helena's face melting into that horrible visage and the agony of having her life almost choked away. She wanted Jason to keep her company. No she wanted Jason to hold her in his arms and whisper words of reassurance. She wanted to further the kiss that had drawn her away from danger into the passion of Jason. She wanted the warmth of his body and the safety of his embrace to prove that everything would work out fine. Good would triumph over evil and they would live happily ever after.

As she watched him don the heavy black coat and slip the dual scabbards for his blades onto his back so that he could stand watch for the rest of the night, she knew this was his way of protecting her.

When they awakened the moon was still high in the sky and she was reminded of the song she'd heard in the Temple. They dressed warmly, stocked the square shaped vehicle with food and weapons and set out on a trip with only a vivid memory, sketchy research and her instincts as a guide. Yet somehow she knew they would find the Phantom Keep today. She was meant to find it. She was meant to endure the trials.

"We've been driving for four hours now," Jasper pointed out, then reached over to tap one of gauges, "Coming up on empty here and there are only three barrels of fuel back there. We need at least two to make sure we get back to the cabin."

"You're being a pest, little brother. We all get it. You can be sure Helena terrifies all of us." Jerry reached over and slapped a comforting arm on Jasper's shoulder which was shoved off and rolled his eyes, with a mixture of embarrassment and irritation. It was really cute to see the two brothers interacting. Underneath all of the teasing was a love she wasn't certain her own siblings felt for each other. Stephen and Sarah maybe but that connection didn't extend to her.

A hum of energy tingled through her fingertips, so she unfastened her safety belt and went to the front of the vehicle looking out of the glass as the effects spread through her body. "We're here."

Jasper blinked several times at the blanket of white then back over his shoulder at her. "No offense, but there's nothing there."

"We're here," she repeated, feeling the presence of the Keep resonating through her body. A sense of urgency adding bite to her tone. "Stop, we're here."

"You heard the lady," Jerry instructed his brother.

"But there's nothing there!"

"We go the rest of the way on foot," she murmured, a smile curving her lips at the touch of deja vu.

_XXooXX_

Jason watched Elizabeth lead them down a small path that appeared when she stepped before it. He had wanted to laugh at the incredulous expression on Jasper's face, Jerry hadn't restrained himself at all. Elizabeth's focus had been entirely on moving forward. He wondered if she knew how beautiful and determined she looked just beaming with power. She didn't quite understand her abilities but he could see the beginnings of them in her every movement. He wanted to be there when she finally realized everything she was meant to be.

After five more minutes of walking, where there should have been solid mountain, opened into a valley and several meters ahead was the shadowed structure of the Phantom Keep enclosed by it's high walls. Jason didn't doubt that when their time here was done, this path would disappear and nothing of the Keep would remain. It would return to the true place of it's state of being and wait until the time when it would be needed once more.

"Do you see anything?" Jerry murmured in his ear. Jason hadn't expected the Jacks brothers to jump into the fight but he was pleased to be wrong. Whether it was from selfish motives, or because they truly liked Elizabeth and didn't want anything to happen to her, he didn't care. He wasn't foolish. Helena knew they were coming and they would need all the help they could get.

"No," he took another scan of the area. There were a few scattered groves of trees, barren from the cold with their branches extending forward like knarled fingers. He could only assume everything in this valley belonged with the Keep. Otherwise there was no place for Helena to hide any of her minions in anticipation of attack. "But I can feel her. The stench of her is unmistakeable."

"So that's why I feel sick to my stomach," Jerry chuckled but it didn't reach the hardness in his gaze. Jerry might behave nonchalantly but the weapons he had secreted on various locations of his body proved he understood exactly how serious the situation was. "I'm going to fall back a bit and keep an eye. Look after them."

He nodded once in acceptance, knowing Jerry understood that he would protect Jasper but Elizabeth was his first priorty. Jasper had better put those fighting lessons Jerry stomped into his head to good use if they were attacked.

"It looks like something out of a memory," Jasper told Elizabeth. "I've seen old Keeps like this. Some in England and Scotland. None of them were as well kept as this one seems to be. Not even the ones touched with magick."

Elizabeth said nothing, the sounds of her booted feet crunching snow as she adjusted the leather gloves on her fingers. She had slipped the hood of her suede coat over her head to keep out the cold, hiding her face from him. He didn't have to see her face to know her blue eyes were shining with wonder.

"I've never been out of the United States," she finally said, they could both hear the regret in her voice. "I always planned to go but something always seemed to happen to keep me here. It must have been nice to see England."

They reached the path leading to the draw bridge and watched it carefully open, the clank and squeal of gears shifting loudly, as if it had been waiting for Elizabeth's arrival.

"I'm going to take point over there on the left," Jasper excused himself. He took her shoulders lightly, pressing a kiss to her forehead and gave her a his trademark cheeky grin. "Good luck Elizabeth."

"Thanks," she accept the hands he held out and squeezed.

They waited until Jasper had placed some distance between them before folding into each others arms as if they had been doing it all of their lives instead of mere days. Jason slipped back her hood, threading his fingers through her hair and lowering his head so that he could draw her scent into his lungs. It wasn't her usual sakura blossoms but it was all Elizabeth. Tender, feminine grace that inspired a swell of heat and desire so strong his body shivered.

Her arms tightened around him as she snuggled closer. This moment, if he could stay forever in this moment his life would have been well spent.

"It's time," he whispered.

"I know," she answered, lifting her head so that he could gaze into her eyes. So clear and true. He wanted to go with her but knew this was not his journey to make. Elizabeth would have to enter Phantom Keep and undergo her trials on her own. "I'm scared."

"Don't be," he shifted so that he could cup her face in his hands. "I have faith in you. The Stave of Nirvana was meant for you."

"Yeah," a hesitant smile touched her lips as she shrugged a shoulder. "Doesn't mean I'm not afraid of failing. All my life my family has looked down on me and now when it's more important than ever that I succeed," she broke off but he didn't need to hear the words to understand. "But knowing you have faith in me, that means more than you'll ever know Jason."

With his teeth, he snatched one of his leather gloves off, shoving it into a pocket. The silk of her skin was cold but he needed to touch her. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before returning to her face, trailing his thumb over her lower lip.

"I'll be here waiting for you."

"I'm counting on that."

When he lowered his head to touch her mouth in the barest of kisses, her fingers tugged at the front of his coat as she released a soft moan of pleasure that made his breath catch. Her lips quickly warmed at each nibbling touch, moist and sweet, and he poured every ounce of feeling that had grown between them into the touch. He might be forbidden the words but she would know how he felt about her.

Breaking away from her was the hardest thing he ever had to do.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**HFF07 #12: It's a dead man's party or **_**"The Devil's voice is sweet to hear."**_** Stephen King**

Song Lyrics Credit: _**The Sky and The Dawn and The Sun **_** from the album Celtic Woman A New Journey**

**The Dawn & The One**

**Chapter Twelve**

Before Elizabeth entered the courtyard, she turned one last look over her shoulder. Jason stood just in the distance, a tall, black-clad figure with a commanding air of power and his determination to protect her. She wondered if his broad shoulders ever tired of the burden he carried. Who cared for Jason? Tended his wounds? Held him when the darkness was too much to bear alone?

The memory of his vow to protect her floated through her head along with all the times he had placed himself in harms way to keep to that promise. She would be the same for him, she nodded her own personal vow to him. Where he was her safe place in this world of danger and madness, she would do her best to be that for him as well.

After one last look, she stepped through.

_**xxooxx**_

Jason felt the younger Jacks' presence before he turned his watch from the sky. He could see the worry in Jasper's eyes, felt it answered in his own knotted stomach. He didn't doubt that Elizabeth would pass her trials, his concern was at what point would Helena attack. Even that Cassadine daemon wasn't foolish enough to attempt a siege on Phantom Keep but if she arrived before Elizabeth's return and with a full army of minions could the three of them hold her off?

Would Elizabeth have attained enough mastery of the Stave to be able to defeat Helena?

"It's been two hours," Jasper slapped his hands together in an attempt to circulate blood and warmth. The day was moving fast and soon any warmth would be taken over by the cold of night. The last thing any of them needed was over exposure, especially up here in the mountains of Alaska. "How do you think she's doing?"

"She's fine," he answered confidently. "It will merely take time."

"It's too bad the ATV couldn't make it down here. It's getting cold as hell out here." Face red and chapped from the cold and wind, even the warm clothes Jasper wore wouldn't hold the temperature off much longer.

"Give it two more hours then set up a tent," Jason reasoned. Going into a battle incapable of fighting was just as bad as being caught unaware. Keeping Jasper functional was more important than trying to conceal a position that was impossible to hide. Given the small path into the valley, they were wide open. "Make a fire and get something hot into your body but keep watch. Don't be so focused on that, Helena manages to get the jump on you."

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine."

_**xxooxx**_

_The wind whipped violently across her face, tangling her wild chocolate tresses around her face and blurring her vision. Her indigo gaze scanned the dense forest trying to keep up with her swift steps that carried her away from the darkened mansion. Elizabeth tried to ignore the slimy mud that squished through her toes and climbed up her legs like some malevolent vine, focusing more on the road she remembered traveling mere hours ago._

_If she could only get there._

_Maybe someone..._

No that wasn't right, her head continued to scream at her. Panting with fatigue, she looked down and found not the dark brown suede coat nor matching heavy brown cords or the Lugs she put on before leaving the cabin. Instead was the dress from the night of dinner with Nikolas Cassadine.

_The lovely bronze strapless evening gown she spent her precious savings on was now in tatters. The full tail clenched in her grip until her nails ripped through the sateen to slice into her palms as to free her legs for their dash of escape from the danger she had been manipulated into. The crimson smears on her pale hands made her stomach clench with nausea just as it had when the sterling silver knife had slid into the neck of the bastard that attacked her. The limo that had ushered her away from her apartment for the private dinner with Nikolas Cassadine remained in the spiraling driveway._

This wasn't right. She was in Alaska, deep in the mountains, not back in Denver. This night was days ago. Yet, the blood on her hands seemed so real. The fatigue in her muscles, her heart pounding in her chest, the fear, it was all so very real.

The Stave, her mind determinedly focused. She was in the Courtyard, she was here for the Stave of Nirvana.

_She felt something clench over the top of her foot, wrenching her ankle painfully in the wrong direction. Before her momentum could be slowed, before her hands raised to brace, there was a strange weightless instant and her body slammed against the muddy ground._

_Elizabeth choked in a gasp of air, her mouth filling with the metallic taste of blood. The throb in her tongue proving her teeth had clamped down on the appendage by accident. Before she could shake the dizziness from her head, the monsters that had pursued her from the Cassadine estate surrounded her._

_The largest of them was to her left, white spittle dripping into the ground beneath it only to steam and bubble like acid. Grief, raw and primative swelled and crashed upon her as she saw her only hope less than a mere one hundred yards away. She raised slowly, flinching when the beast growled and crept forward a few steps, joined by it's companions._

Was this a trial? Forcing her to relive one of the most terrifying moments of her life? How could this be connected to the Stave? What could be the point of forcing her to endure this horror again?

_Moonlight glint off the steel of a pair of nasty looking blades that curved almost intimately along the length of thickly muscled arms._

"Jason," she whispered. He was here? But how? Or was this another part of the memory?

_"Look out!"_

"Look out!"

The dual warning echoed loudly in her head and the air around her. Only this time Jason's attack failed. Instead of the smooth, graceful sweep of his arm and the blade in his hand, the werewolf got the jump on him forcing him to the ground. The two grappled in the mud and dirt and though Jason fought bravely, she could see the beginnings of strain in his face.

She couldn't let this happen. Hadn't she just vowed that she would be there for Jason just as he was for her? Was her word less than Jason's? Would she lay here and allow the man she was growing to love be mauled by these damned beasts?

_Love?_

No, that was impossible. No one could love in days, there was no such thing. She cared for Jason but it couldn't be love.

At the next loud growl, her eyes flicked to the three other werewolves circling. Only their attention was on Jason still writhing on the ground with the beast over him gradually beginning to win their confrontation.

"Stop it," her voice was thin and frail, exactly as it had sounded when she sent forth her plea for help. Help that she hadn't believed was coming but was answered by the man who was so dangerously close to death.

Protecting her.

"Stop it!" She screamed, standing unsteadily. Demon gold eyes glared at her intrusion, then went back to their prey. "I said stop it! Get away from him! Leave him alone."

"No," her head whipped around at the sound of his weakened voice. She had never heard him sound that way. Defeated. "No Elizabeth, you have to save yourself. Run away, please. I'm not important, I'm already dead. So run! Please run."

"I'm not leaving you," she whispered. Tears bluring her eyes at the sight of blood trailing from his mouth. "I'm not leaving you." This time her fists clenched, chin lifted as she took a defiant step forward. "Get off of him."

And power began to hum in her veins.

"Get off!"

_**xxooxx**_

"There's been no sign of the Helena or any of her hellspawn." Jerry accepted the thermos of coffee from his brother and gulped down several swallows. "What do you think?"

Jason didn't bother to turn his gaze from the path to the keep, though he relished the warmth of the fire. The sun was long gone, day passing swiftly into night without much fanfare, as was usually the case up here in Alaska. The tempetures had dropped dramatically, so he hadn't been surprised to see Jerry making his way through the Valley toward them and a needed respite from the bitter winds that were building.

"I think she's biding her time," Jason finally answered, taking a sip from his own thermos. "This all henges on Elizabeth coming out with the Stave. She completes the trials, Helena will attack. If she doesn't, Helena will probably try to kill her, just in case Elizabeth's offspring are White Mages."

"That's quite possible considering the power I felt in the girl," Jerry sighed. "If Helena kills Elizabeth, she would never have to worry about the Stave coming into game play ever again."

"True," Jasper agreed, "It's certainly possible that someone in Elizabeth's family could produce a White Mage but it took centuries for that power to gather in a woman strong enough to defeat Helena."

"And Helena knows it as well," Jason sneered. "Forget taking three posts, we move to stand guard at the path. We'll take shifts of forty-five minutes each, while the other two take shelter. We have to play this smart, or else we'll be useless when the time comes."

"Agreed." Jerry, adjusted his own coat. "I'll take first shift, then Jasper then you Jason." Before he could argue, Jerry held him off with a hand. "You're Elizabeth's best chance. You need to rest up, I haven't forgotten you took guard all last night and the only sleep you managed was the bit in the ATV on the way up here."

"I'm fine."

"We all have our pride, Jason. Don't let yours be what shifts the balance so that Helena wins."

"I don't need you to tell me how to protect Elizabeth."

"Then you certainly won't be arguing with the shift arangements, will you?"

_**xxooxx**_

When the bold white light faded away, Elizabeth looked down at her hands in astonishment. One moment she had been determined to protect Jason from the werewolves even going so far as to step between him and the ones who threatened to attack and the next this energy had burst forth from her hands with enough force to knock all four animals back.

Then she found herself looking around an abandoned keep as if nothing had happened.

"What was that?"

_"It was you, White Mage."_

She faulted at the melodious voices, "Who are you?"

_**"High is the moon tonight..."**_

_**"Hiding its guiding light, high."**_

_**"Heaven and earth do sleep,"**_

_**"Still in the dark so deep,"**_

_**"I will the darkness sweep..."**_

The soft voices echoed around her in all directions, "What do you mean? I don't understand."

_"She has courage. One part of the soul of a White Mage."_

_"Courage to stand."_

_"Courage to defend."_

_"She uses the gift of deflexus well."_

_"This trial she passes, as not many have before her. The Courtyard of Death has broken the will of many. You may enter the Temple, young one and face the Maze of the Chosen."_

_"Be warned, not all is what it seems."_

_"Follow your heart, young Elizabeth. It will serve you well."_

With those words, she watched the door of the Temple swing wide. "Well here goes nothing," she drew a deep breath, gathering the courage the voices claimed she had and walked forward. When the door closed around her, she found herself in a place she hadn't expected.

"Dad?"

"Lizzie," she watched the man wearing the face of her father smile welcomingly at her, "Sweetheart, it's so good to see you." As he reached behind her to close the door, she realized she was in the home where she grew up. When he pulled her into a tight warm hug, then leaned back to kiss her forehead she was too stunned to do anything but blink. "When did you get home? I'm surprised you're back so soon. I thought you said the work in Italy would take a bit longer than you expected."

"Italy? Hun?"

"The painting? Remeber? The Monet discovery? One of his lost paintings? My goodness how could you have forgotten, you've been on cloud nine for the past six months." A small frown creased Jeff Webber's brow but even that was nothing like the looks of annoyance her father usual graced her with. "Lizzie are you feeling okay?"

"The trial," she murmured, pulling back out of his arms. "This is about the trial."

"Trial? What trial?" Then his eyes widened, a soft smile of understanding touching his lips, "Oh, the trial for the Stave of Nirvana. I remember you telling us all about it. That is how you met your husband and finally defeated Helena Cassadine."

"My _what_?"

_**xxooxx**_

When Jason sat up he knew something was wrong. The first thing he noticed was he was alone in the tent. He drew in a deep breath, the stench of the Cassadines still lingering in the air. Just outside the tent he could hear the crackle of the fire and the brisk wind. Cautious, he slipped Raikiri and Hizeme from their sheaths, feeling both pulse with elemental energy and rolled to his feet.

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

Using Hizeme, he pushed aside the flap of the tent and stepped out. Only to find nothing. No Jerry. No Jasper. Just the night.

"Helena," he muttered.

"I'm so glad you've been expecting me dear."

_**xxooxx**_

"Mommy! Mommy! You're back!"

Elizabeth could only gawk in shock as the two children rushed from the kitchen and threw themselves at her. Both dark head looked up at her with more love and joy than she had ever felt in her life. She couldn't help but warm and feel the same swell in return.

"We missed you Mommy," the adorable little girl pouted, her twin ponytails and missing front teeth ruined the affect as her cornflower eyes twinkled with mischief. "Daddy brought us to Grandma and Grandpa's for Sunday dinner cause he burned the pot roast you left us."

"Yeah," the younger boy agreed with a solemn nod. "Did you miss us?"

"Yes," she whispered, feeling tears blur her eyes. Of course she missed them, they were her babies how could she not. "I came home as quickly as I could just becuase I missed you so much." She kneeled down touching a trembling hand over her daughter's, _Laura_, face. Then her son, _Lucas_, and gathered them both in her arms. "I love you so much."

"Grandpa is taking us to the hospital tomorrow," Lucas grinned happily, "And then he promised to take us to the zoo and lunch."

"Well it sounds like you have a busy day planned." Elizabeth kissed his cheek quickly loving the sounds of his giggles.

"Now that you're home Lizzie, you could join us if you're not too busy right?"

"I'm not too busy, Dad."

She frowned softly. That didn't sound right. Shaking her head at that foolishness, she turned back to her children, "Where is your father?"

"Right here sweetheart." The tall dark haired man stepped from the kitchen with a slow grin. It should have made her stomach flutter. When Jason gave her one of those rare smiles, her stomach always fluttered. "Hello Lizzie, I missed you."

The arms that pulled her close didn't make her feel warm and safe. They felt wrong. When he leaned back to place a kiss on her forehead she couldn't help flinch. "What's wrong?"

And her eyes shifted finally seeing what was wrong. "You're not Jason."

"Jason? You mean our Captain of the Imperial Guard Jason Morgan? He's the one who brought you to me remember? It was really tragic how he died saving you from Helena. But if he hadn't saved you, then we never would have met. Dont' you remember saving me sweetheart? If Jason hadn't died, we never would have married and had our two beautiful children."

"No," the word was trapped in her throat. "That's wrong. Jason isn't dead."

"Lizzie that was almost ten years ago."

"You're lying," the tears spilled down her cheeks as she glanced around at the one thing she had always dreamed. A family. Her father's acceptance. "Jason's not dead. He's not dead because I would never let him die for me."

Elizbeth looked down at her trembling hands then back at the dream that was so utterly wrong without the man she loved in it. "This isn't real. I would never allow Jason to die. I'd protect him with my life."

The images slowly began to fade away, "That was my vow."


	12. Chapter 13

Hey. This is late. I tried to get to this prompt yesterday but I had a very busy All Hallows. Not only is it late but I went over time a bit in order to finish it up. Very naughty.

I want to thank everyone who gave this bit of paranormal fantasy a try. I'm sorry for the lack of fluffy goodness but it takes more time than I had to write a good bit of fluffy. Maybe my next Liason fic will be a romantic comedy or something. I had a lot of fun with this challenge and the writing was as much fun as reading all the great stories.

Rated: NC-17   
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just like writing about them. 

Song Credit: **The Sky and The Dawn and The Sun ** _from the album Celtic Woman, A New Journey_

HFF07 # 13: **Black Licorice **

****

**The Dawn & The One**

**Chapter Thirteen**

_"Ah, young Elizabeth proves worthy of her second trial."_

The pang of bittersweet in her heart kept her silent to the echoed voice. Somehow in the middle of whatever mind trick was being played on her, Elizabeth found herself standing at the base of stairs that would lead to the upper level of the Temple. She glanced carefully around taking in her surroundings immediately noting that no one had lived in this place for many many years.

The furniture, what little remained was old and covered with dust and spiderwebs. The windows should have brought in the mountains outside but were black with layers of dirt. It made her wonder how something that was supposed to be good and powerful remained in such neglect.

_"The Keep has not known any life for many years, White Mage."_ A solemn voice seemed to read her mind.

_"Not since we were cast away from this world."_

_"To protect it from evil who would corrupt the Stave."_

That was something she hadn't heard or read before about the Stave, "It can be corrupted? How is that possible?"

_"Even the purest heart has it's weakness."_

_"And what was yours if not your father's love."_

_"The family who would love you the way you've never been."_

"So that's why the trial was about," she paused, feeling betrayed in a way. This place had taken her deepest dreams and used them to test her to discover is she was worthy. How was this any different than some of the crap her father put her through?  
_  
"Loyalty, young Elizabeth."_

_"Sacrifice."_

_"These are not easy for even the purest of hearts. Vows are so often broken when faced with the seductive lure of the heart's desire."_

_"And you have proven yourself worthy."_

_"And wielded negatus well."  
_  
"Deflexus, negatus, I don't know what you're talking about. Is that the power I felt from my hands earlier." She felt lost as if she had been cast into a sea and it's dark abyss was fathomless.

_"Yes, White Mage. The ability to sheild and the power to break the affects of a spell on the mind are powerful weapons in a White Mage's spell casting."_

Jason was counting on her to leave this Temple with the Stave and the power to defeat Helena. The helplessness of the situation made her want to sit on the last step and cry. These were things she should have been learning all of her life. How could she be expected to just instinctively know how to use these abilities when she was faced with true danger.

"I don't think I can do this," she murmured, eyes squeezing shut at the painful squeeze around her heart. "I don't know what to do anymore."

_**"I will the moon to flight,"**_

_**"I will the heavens bright,"**_

_**"I will the earth delight."**_

_**"Open your eyes with me,"**_

_**"See paradise with me,"**_

_**"Awake and arise with me..."**_

"Great, riddles. As if I don't have enough screwing around with my head, I'm being tested by an empty Temple and phantom voices singing." Never one to give up without a fight, she placed her first foot on the step. The low creak of wood made her pause to ensure the steps would how her weight.

When nothing happened, she continued upward.

_**xxooxx**_

"So the Spencers have sent out their Guard dog to protect the Mage?"

Jason kept his sights firmly on the daemon before him but opened his other senses to his surrounding. He caught multiple heartbeats pounding irratically and knew Helena had placed her minions in the shadows. The question being how many were there and why had Helena chosen to show her hand so soon. No one knew what was going on in the Keep, if Elizabeth was passing her trials. Why was Helena here?

"You step dangerously close to violating the treaty," he reminded her needlessly. If Helena was pushing for a confrontation she didn't give a damn about a filmsy peace treaty that was one act of violence away from being broken.

"That would be the Spencers," she shrugged, lifting a negligent shoulder as if she had given the conversation more than enough of her time. "The Cassadines aren't harboring Beserkers who attacked without provocation."

"I believe the murder of a brother is enough to provoke retaliation."

"Maybe so," Helena conceeded with a incline of her head, "However, the Spencers are harboring the remaining criminals and refusing to turn them over to me."

"So you can place one of those control crystals in their head? I'd kill them myself first."

"Ah, yes. Our dear Nephilim. Forced to make such difficult decisions." Helena moved forward, the heels of her boots moving through the snow without making any sound. "You do realize you'll never have her. The little Webber Mage. Not if the Spencer Bitch has any say in the matter."

With a mere twist of his wrist, the blade of Raikiri was pressed against her throat threateningly. "Watch your tongue!"

"Still defending her? Would she be your strident supporter if the roles were reversed? You are nothing more than a trained animal who kills on command to them. If you're under their leash, they need not fear the true destiny of you, Nephilim."

The slick words were coated with the taint of her evil but they did not make them any less true. However, he had his honor and it had nothing to do with Spencers or Cassadines. It was all he had in this world and no one would take it from him. Especially not some slick tongued daemon who would just as soon offer him a bright shiny red apple as to stick a blade in his back and sever his spinal cord.

"You must truly fear Elizabeth to come to me this way," Jason smirked, refusing to play her game of seduction any longer. "You must know I'd never give her to you. Nor would I allow you to harm her in anyway."

"You need not do anything but stay out of my way and I would allow you to leave this valley with not only your life," she waved a wrinkled bony hand and from the shadows stepped Nikolas and two Cassadine Breeds both with a Jacks in their grasp. A moment later the valley was filled with Breeds. "But the lives of these two as well. Make your decision Jason Morgan and choose wisely for I will not give you another."

"I would die for her," he spat, relishing the rise of fury in her blood red eyes.

"Well, it's good that you've accepted your fate. For you will die and the Stave will be mine."

"Yeah, whatever you say," he muttered, slipping his legs into a kata stance. His mind was already focused on the battle to come. He didn't need to kill all of the Cassadine Breeds, he merely had to destroy Helena and Nikolas. The rest would scatter at the death of their Queen.

Mentally he was already ahead six moves to see what kind of trap he could lay or a vulnerable moment he could induce. Hopefully Jerry and Jasper would find some way to protect themselves. It wasn't difficult to kill a Breed but it wasn't a walk in the park either.

"Big talk from a daemon who is frightened of a novice White Mage and a little stick."

The wave of fury and and killer intent Helena released would have been enough to kill human and daemon alike. As it was, the bonfire behind him was estinguished, the snow around him melted down to the dirt beneath and it felt like someone had blasted him full on with a flame thrower.

Jason twirled his blades nimbly, allowing the crackle of lightening and the simmer of flame a burst of life.

_**xxooxx**_

"I remember this." It was the Hall of Omnis from her vision. Strange but she had thought there would be another trial. Instead there the Stave was right across the room waiting for her. All she would have to do is walk across the room, remove it from that blue material and it would be all hers.

"Okay, I've seen enough Indiana Jones movies to know there has to be a boobie trap in here somewhere," she grunted taking the first step into the Hall. When those melodious voices didn't rise in song, she knew something was going to happen. The only question was what? Did they want her to go to the Stave or should she wait until something happened?

She didn't know for certain if something would happen, so how long was she supposed to wait then. Five minutes. Ten. An hour. A lifetime. She could stand here in the door way to the all for the rest of her life waiting for something to happen simply because she didn't have the courage to move forward.

"Let's see," she slowly began crossing the room thinking aloud, "The first test was about courage. To see if I would run away when I had the power to fight."

After chancing a glance around the room to see if anything was going to happen, like the floor opening up beneath her feet or poisoned arrows flying from secreted places in the walls, she continued forward.

"The second trial was about loyalty and sacrifice. Whether I would stay true to my vow and my feelings for Jason or if I would take door number two."

Courage. Loyalty and sacrifice. What did that have to do with the Stave? Elizabeth thought back through every bit of information she had gleamed about the Stave and was brought back to one sentence. _Wielded by one of pure heart and soul._ "That certainly doesn't apply to me," she muttered aloud.

When she stood before the Stave, she could feel the power emaninating from it. It enveloped her in warmth, with an innocence and grace that she'd never felt before. The only thing she had to compare it with was the love she felt whenever she was in Jason's arms.

No sooner had she finished the thought, did the Stave rise slowly from it's place. It throbbed once with a pulse of energy that made her gasp in wonder. Then again, this time humming, first barely auditable then growing so loud she wanted to cover her ears. A third time, she watched as the flame shaped crystal at the tip began to glow in a royal light.

Was it telling her to take it within her grasp? Her instincts said yes but all of her fears and worries were growing louder in the back of her head. Was she truly a White Mage? Could she do the things Jason believed her capable of? If her own father didn't believe in her, why should anyone else?

And she remembered something Jason said. She didn't have to study to be a White Mage, she was born one.

Carefully she reached out a hand, noting its tremor but this time she could feel a taste of excitement in those nerves. Feeling the Stave calling to her, she believed she finally understood Jason's words.

_**xxooxx**_

Jason was thrown back into the snow and ice so hard it felt like the breath was snatched from his lungs and was proceeding to crush them like a tin can.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Jerry and Nikolas fighting at a stand still. Somehow during their capture, Jerry managed to lift a few of the Cassadine heir's abilities and were using them against him. The stand still wouldn't last long because the daemonic powers would drain just as quickly from Jerry's very mortal body as his own did. How Jerry continued for this long was a testament to how powerful a Thief the Jacks truly was.

Jasper had his hands full, taking advantage of a Thief's true gift, their speed. The Breeds were having a hell of a time keeping up with the man. While Jerry was more for head on attack, Jasper's specialty was more of a dash and stab. Jasper would blur to avoid an attack, come up behind a Breed and lift some of it's powers, blur again and use them to take down another. Jasper couldn't hold a gift as long as his brother could but his advantage was the man was a complete stamina freak.

Jason on the other hand knew Helena was merely toying with him as she awaited Elizabeth's arrival. Fortunately for him it just happened to be his plan as well. If he managed to get in a few good wounds in the process, like the nice one Helena was sporting on her left side thanks to Hizeme, all the better.

Helena stomped her foot, the ground erupted deep beneath into earth and Jason had to roll to his feet quickly to escape the burst of flame that ignited after it. Her laughter as he realized he hadn't been fast enough to avoid the nasty burn on his hand was beginning to get on his nerves.

"Why continue on this way Nephilim? There is only one way to truly defeat me and it won't be the way you're fighting now." From the ground flowed dark malevolent vines all moving so quickly there was no way he would be able to avoid them.

"Raikiri," he bellowed, slamming the blade into the ground and twisted, allowing the energy to pulse through his body. A streak of white lightening lit across the night sky, with a sharp crackle of power, then hit the ground. High pitched squeals and cries of pain filled the air as the vines filled with energy then exploded.

"Now we're getting somewhere." Helena chuckled. He watched in dismay as a pair of wings, warped and membranous extended from her back. An already wizened face, shriveled, until her skin darkened like weathered leather. White hair lengthened down her back and her eyes were sunken into her skull. From her forehead distended two long curved horns as she became the epitome of evil. A centruries old daemon that he had no possible chance of defeating on his own.

"I am one with the One."

Both turned at the shouted words, Helena with fury and Jason with a small smile of pride. At some point, she had lost her coat but never had Jason seen a more beautiful sight in his life. The cashmere ivory sweater she wore made Elizbaeth's pale face luminous with an inner glow and it was only enhanced by the dark curls that tumbled around her face.

"I will have the Stave, weak child."

When Elizabeth covered her mouth and pretended to yawn, he didn't bother to hold back the deep, rich laughter that rose in his chest. This only infuriated the daemon more. "How dare you!"

"I dare a lot these days." Elizabeth glanced down at the Stave in her hand, "I would never have understood, if not for Jason. I never knew what it felt like to be cared for or accepted. I was so afraid of what he believed I could be, that I really didn't want to accept it. I didn't want to believe a love like his could be meant for me."

The glint of wonder and promise in her eyes made his heart pound with happiness. "It isn't about finding the right path, it's about walking it."

"I am the Dawn," her voice was silken oak, strong and true, her eyes never leaving his. As she lifted the Stave as it began pulsing. She thrust the base into the ground and blue light burst free. His wings slowly expanded as Raikiri and Hizeme began rumbling with energy.

"And I am one with the One."

_**xxooxx**_

"Thank you for healing my son."

Luke Spencer had a formidable presence and Elizabeth could see how he had the power and determination to defeat Helena's two sons. But the gentle smile of gratitude he gave her held all of a father's love for his son.

She glanced over at Lucky Spencer, realizing with a blink of disbelief, he was the man in the vision from the Temple. The very idea of her and this man married with two children was unbelievable. Not because of the deep abiding emotions she felt for Jason but jeez, he just was _not_ her type.

Besides, given the way he and the Quartermaine heiress, Emily, kept staring at each other, Lucky Spencer was off the marriage market.

The Spencer estate in Port Charles, New York was massive but beautiful in the way of an old fairy tale. This small lounging chamber was just as elegant and sophiscated as the lovely Lady Laura Spencer seated at her husband's side. If not for the look of disappointment on her face, that is.

"Are you certain you wouldn't like to stay here at the estate for a while," Laura tried again with a smile more like the expression Elizabeth made when she accidentally ate a piece of black licorice. But she wasn't blind. Given Jason's nervousness from the moment they stepped onto the Spencer grounds to the way Laura had been quietly trying to push her and Lucky together, she was quite aware of the matchmaking attempt circling in the woman's head.

"No, thank you," she denied with a disarming smile of her own. And just to make her point clear, she looped her arm within Jason's and leaned into his tall muscular form with more than a hint of possessiveness. "Jason and I will be quite comfortable at his cottage."

"Yes, of course." Laura nodded once and finally seemed to get the message.

"Well, Jason," Luke chuckled wickedly as his face split into a wide grin. "I guess you've found your very own Angel as well."

All during the discussion, Jason had remained silent but stalwartly by her side. Refusing to even look at the pointed glares Laura threw in his direction. This man was Nephilim, Captain of the Spencer Imperial Guard, complete with his ethereal stately white wings, dark robes and swords encased in the scabbards on his back.

When he glanced down at her, giving her a smile that sent her pulses racing, he was the Jason Morgan she loved.

"Yes, I believe I have."


End file.
